,    MED: 

She  St 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 


SAN  FRANCISCO 
COUNTY  MEDICAL  SOCIETY 


H 


ISTORY  of  the  MEDICAL 
SOCIETY  of  the  STATE  of 

NEW    YORK 


BY 


In    Commemoration    of    the    Centennial    of   the 

MEDICAL  SOCIETY  of  the  STATE  of  N.  Y. 

January,    1906 


MEDICAL     SOCIETV 

STATE     or     CAUIFORNIA 


RECEIVED    JUN2  61908 


PUBLISHED       BY       THE       SOCIETY 
1907 


PREFACE 

THE  modern  idea  in  writing  history  is  to 
allow  the  contemporaries  to  tell  their  own 
story  as  far  as  possible,  making  due  allow- 
ance for  prejudice,  and  presenting  as  far  as  is 
feasible  both  sides  of  the  question.  The  method 
employed  in  writing  this  history  of  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  for  the  cen- 
tennial of  its  foundation,  has  been  to  use,  wher- 
ever available,  excerpts  from  contemporary 
writings.  The  writer  has  preferred  to  take  the 
position  of  editor  of  such  abstracts  rather  than 
to  attempt  to  tell  the  story  directly;  for  while 
the  interest  and  the  connection  of  the  narrative 
may  suffer  somewhat  by  this  method,  historical 
accuracy  gains  much,  and  the  frequent  refer- 
ences to  the  sources  of  our  knowledge  may  prove 
suggestive  to  students  of  medical  history  who 
care  to  pursue  the  subject   further. 

The  writer  wishes  to  thank  many  friends  for 
their  aid  in  preparing  this  work,  notably  Dr.  A. 
Jacobi,  of  New  York,  and  Drs.  Albert  Vander- 
veer  and  Frederick  C.  Curtis,  of  Albany.  Spe- 
cial thanks  for  help  at  doubtful  points  are  due 
to  Mr.  John  S.  Brownne,  the  librarian  of  the  New 
York  Academy  of  Medicine. 


Biomedical  fh'^-f"  ■   O  i  V 

Library  .  .  ,  n 

HISTORY  OF  THE  MEDICAL  SOCIETY 
OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK. 

By  JAMES   J.  WALSH,  M.D.,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

NEW  YORK. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  LEGISLATIVE  CREATION  OF  THE  MEDI- 
CAL SOCIETY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW 
YORK. 

AS  a  result  of  meetings  held  by  certain 
members  of  the  medical  profession,  in 
Saratoga  County,  toward  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  and  again  at  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  it  was  resolved  to  make  an 
attempt  to  secure  the  legal  regulation  of  the 
practice  of  medicine,  by  the  estabHshment  of 
a  corporate  State  medical  body,  composed  of 
representatives  from  the  different  counties  of 
the  State,  which  should  have  the  power  of 
granting  or  refusing  license  to  practice  med- 
icine. Considerable  opposition  was  manifested 
at  the  beginning,  and  it  was  difificult  for  the 
members  of  the  medical  profession  to  agree 
upon  a  scheme  satisfactory  to  all.  As  a  con- 
sequence, nearly  ten  years  elapsed  before  the 
required  act  of  the  Legislature  was  obtained.  At 
first  it  was  thought  that  the  act  for  the  regulation 
of  the  practice  of  medicine  would  be  asked  only 
for  the  counties  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
State.  Fortunately,  however,  the  committee  in 
charge  deemed  it  advisable  to  ask  for  the  pas- 
sage of  a  law  for  the  whole  State. 

This  law  was  passed  April  4,  1806.  Some- 
thing of  the  history  of  the  efforts  required  to 
bring  about  that  community  of  interest  that 
would  secure  the  passage  of  the  law,  the  difficul- 
ties that  were  encountered,  and  the  change  of 
base  from  the  demand  of  a  law  for  particular 
counties  to  that  of  one  for  the  whole  State,  will 
be  stated  in  a  later  chapter,  in  the  words  of  Dr. 


593260 


John  Stearns,  who  was  himself  one  of  the  chief 
actors  in  these  proceedings,  and  who  subse- 
quently wrote  an  account  of  them  in  order  to 
correct  many  false  impressions  that  had  begun 
to  be  current. 

The  act  authorizing  county  medical  societies 
in  the  various  counties  of  the  State  and  empow- 
ering delegates  from  them  to  organize  a  State 
medical  society,  was  entitled:  "An  Act  to  Incor- 
porate Medical  Societies  for  the  Purpose  of 
Regulating  the  Practice  of  Physic  and  Surgery 
in  this  State,"  and  passed  April  4,  1806,  in  the 
twenty-ninth  session  of  the  Legislature.  It  runs 
as  follows : 

Whereas,  well  regulated  Medical  Societies  have  been 
found  to  contribute  to  the  diffusion  of  true  science  and 
particularly  the  knowledge  of  the  healing  art,  Therefore 

I.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  represented  in  the  Senate  and  Assembly,  that  it 
shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  physicians  and  surgeons 
in  the  several  counties  of  this  State  now  authorized  by 
law  to  practice  in  their  several  professions,  to  meet 
together  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  July  next  at  the  place 
where  the  last  term  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
next  previous  to  such  meeting  was  held  in  their  re- 
spective counties;  and  the  several  physicians  and  sur- 
geons so  convened  as  aforesaid  or  any  part  of  them, 
being  not  less  than  five  in  number,  shall  proceed  to  the 
choice  of  a  President,  Vice-President,  Secretary  and 
Treasurer,  who  shall  hold  their  offices  for  one  year 
and  until  others  are  chosen  in  their  places ;  and  when- 
ever the  said  societies  shall  be  so  organized  as  afore- 
said, they  are  hereby  declared  to  be  bodies  corporate 
and  politic  in  fact  and  in  name,  by  the  names  of  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  county  where  such  societies  shall 
respectively  be  formed,  and  by  that  name  shall  be  in 
law  capable  of  suing  and  being  sued,  pleading  and  being 
impleaded,  answering  and  being  answered  unto,  defend- 
ing and  being  defended  in  all  courts  and  places  in  all 
matters  and  causes  whatsoever,  and  shall  and  may  have 
a  common  seal,  and  may  alter  and  renew  the  same  at 
their  pleasure. 

II.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  there  shall  be  a 
general  medical  society  to  be  composed  of  one  mem- 
ber from  each  of  the  county  societies  in  the  State, 
elected  by  ballot  at  their  annual  meeting,  who  shall  meet 
together  in  the  City  of  Albany  on  the  first  Tuesday  of 
February  next,  and  being  so  met,  not  less  than  fifteen 


in  number,  shall  proceed  by  ballot  to  the  choice  of  a 
President,  Vice-President,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  who 
shall  hold  their  offices  for  one  year  and  until  others 
shall  be  chosen  in  their  places ;  and  the  said  society 
being  so  organized  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  and  they  are 
hereby  declared  to  be  a  body  corporate  and  politic  in 
fact  and  in  name,  by  the  name  of  the  Medical  Society 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  by  that  name  shall  be  in 
law  capable  of  suing  and  being  sued,  pleading  and  being 
impleaded,  answering  and  being  answered  unto,  defend- 
ing and  being  defended  in  all  courts  and  places,  and  in 
all  matters  and  causes  whatsoever,  and  shall  and  may 
have  and  use  a  common  seal,  and  may  change  and  alter 
the  same  at  their  pleasure. 

III.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  the  Medical  So- 
ciety of  the  State  of  New  York  and  also  the  medical 
societies  of  the  respective  counties  shall  and  may  agree 
upon  and  determine  the  times  and  places  of  their  next 
meeting  and  the  time  so  agreed  upon  shall  forever  there- 
after be  the  anniversary  day  of  holding  their  respective 
meeting;  and  it  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  each  of  the  county  medical  societies  to  lodge  in 
the  office  of  the  clerk  of  their  respective  counties  a  copy 
of  all  the  proceedings  had  at  their  first  meeting  within 
twenty  days  after  such  meeting,  and  it  shall  also  be 
the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York  to  lodge  in  the  office  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  a  copy  of  their  proceedings  had  at  their 
first  general  meeting,  and  the  said  clerks  and  Secretary 
are  hereby  required  to  file  the  same  in  their  respective 
offices,  for  which  they  shall  each  receive  the  sum  of 
twelve  and  one-half  cents. 

IV.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  the  medical  so- 
sieties  established  as  aforesaid  are  hereby  respectively 
empowered  to  examine  all  students  who  shall  or  may 
present  themselves  for  that  purpose,  and  to  give  a  di- 
ploma under  the  hand  of  the  President  and  seal  of  such 
society  before  whom  such  student  shall  be  examined, 
which  diploma  shall  be  sufficient  to  empower  the  person 
so  obtaining  the  same  to  practice  physic  or  surgery  or 
both,  as  shall  be  set  forth  in  the  said  diploma,  in  any 
part  of  this  State ;  and  the  person  receiving  such  diplo- 
ma shall,  upon  the  receipt  of  the  same,  pay  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  said  society  the  sum  of  two  dollars,  for  the 
use  of  the  said  society. 

V.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  if  any  student  who 
shall  have  presented  himself  for  examination  before  any 
of  the  medical  societies  of  the  several  counties  of  this 
State  shall  think  himself  aggrieved  by  the  decision  of 
such  society,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  such  student  to  pre- 
sent himself  for  examination  to  the  Medical  Society 
of  the  State  of  New   York,   and  if  in  the  opinion  of 


such  Society,  the  student  so  applying  is  well  qualified 
for  the  practice  of  physic  or  surgery  or  both,  as  the 
case  may  be,  the  President  of  said  Society  shall,  under 
his  hand  and  the  seal  of  such  Society,  give  to  the  said 
applicant  a  diploma  agreeable  to  such  decision ;  such 
applicant  paying  therefor  to  the  said  President  the 
sum  of  two  dollars. 

VI.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  it  shall  and  may 
be  lawful  for  the  several  medical  societies  so  estab- 
lished as  aforesaid,  at  their  annual  meetings  to  appoint 
not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  five  censors,  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  carefully  and  impartially  to  examine  all 
students  who  shall  present  themselves  for  that  purpose 
and  report  thereupon  in  writing  to  the  President  of 
said  Society. 

VII.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  from  and  after 
the  first  day  of  September  next  no  person  shall  com- 
mence the  practice  of  physic  or  surgery  within  any  of 
the  counties  of  this  State  until  he  shall  have  passed  an 
examination  and  received  a  diploma  from  one  of  the 
medical  societies  to  be  established  as  aforesaid ;  and 
if  any  person  shall  so  practice  without  having  obtained 
a  diploma  for  that  purpose  he  shall  forever  thereafter 
be  disqualified  from  collecting  any  debt  or  debts  in- 
curred by  such  practice  in  any  court  in  this  State. 

VIII.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  it  shall  and  rnay 
be  lawful  for  the  medical  societies  of  the  respective 
counties  in  this  State,  which  shall  be  established  by 
virtue  of  this  act.  and  also  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  to  purchase  and  hold  any  estate, 
real  and  personal  for  the  use  of  said  respective  so- 
cieties, 

PROVIDED  such  estate  as  well  real  as  personal 
which  the  county  societies  are  hereby  respectively 
authorized  to  hold,  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  one 
thousand  dollars ;  and  that  the  estate  as  well  real  as 
personal  which  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York  is  hereby  authorized  to  hold,  shall  not 
exceed  five  thousand  dollars. 

IX.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  it  shall  be  lawful 
for  the  respective  societies  to  be  established  by  virtue 
of  this  act,  to  make  such  by-laws,  rules  and  regulations 
relative  to  the  affairs,  concerns  and  properties  of  said 
societies;  relative  to  the  admission  and  expulsion  of 
members ;  relative  to  such  donations  and  contributions 
as  they  or  a  majority  of  the  members  at  their  annual 
meeting  shall  think  fit  and  proper, 

PROVIDED,  that  such  by-laws,  rules,  and  regu- 
lations made  by  the  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York 
be  not  contrary  to  nor  inconsistent  with  the  constitu- 
tion and  laws  of  this  State,  or  of  the  United  States, 
and   that   the   by-laws,    rules    and    regulations    of   the 


respective  county  societies  shall  not  be  repugnant  to  the 
by-laws,  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Medical  Society 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  nor  contrary  to  or  incon- 
sistent with  the  constitution  and  laws  of  this  State  or 
of  the  United  States. 

X.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  the  treasurer  of 
each  society  established  as  aforesaid,  shall  receive  and 
be  accountable  for  all  monies  that  shall  come  into  his 
hands  by  virtue  of  any  of  the  by-laws  of  such  society 
and  also  for  all  monies  that  shall  come  into  the  hands 
of  the  President  thereof,  for  the  admission  of  members 
or  licensing  students,  which  monies  the  said  President 
is  hereby  required  to  pay  over  to  the  said  treasurer, 
who  shall  account  therefore  to  the  society  at  their 
annual  meetings;  and  no  monies  shall  be  drawn  from 
thj  treasury  unless  in  such  sums  and  for  such  purposes 
as  shall  be  agreed  upon  by  a  majority  of  the  society  at 
their  annual  meeting  and  by  a  warrant  for  that  purpose, 
signed  by  the  President. 

XL  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  Secretary  of  each  of  the  medical  societies 
to  be  established  by  virtue  of  this  act  to  provide  a  book 
in  which  he  shall  make  an  entry  of  all  the  resolutions 
and  proceedings  which  may  be  had  from  time  to  time 
and  also  the  name  of  each  and  every  member  of  said 
society  and  the  time  of  his  admission,  and  also  the 
annual  reports  relative  to  the  state  of  the  treasury  and 
all  such  other  things  as  a  majority  of  the  society  shall 
think  proper ;  to  which  book  any  member  of  the  society 
may  at  any  time  have  recourse,  and  the  same,  together 
with  all  books,  papers  and  reports  which  may  be  in  the 
hands  of  the  Secretary  and  be  the  property  of  the 
society,  shall  be  delivered  to  his  successor  in  office. 

XII.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  it  shall  be  law- 
ful for  each  of  the  medical  societies  to  be  established 
by  virtue  of  this  act,  to  be  caused  to  be  raised  and  col- 
lected from  each  of  the  members  of  such  society  a  sum 
not  to  exceed  three  dollars  in  any  one  year,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  procuring  a  medical  library  and  apparatus,  and 
for  the  encouragement  of  useful  discoveries  in  chemistry, 
botany  and  such  other  improvements  as  the  majority 
of  the  society  shall  think  proper. 

XIII.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  nothing  in  this 
act  contained  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  any  person 
coming  from  any  other  State  or  county  from  practicing 
physic  or  surgery  within  this  State,  such  person  being 
duly  authorized  to  practice  by  the  laws  of  such  State 
or  county,  having  a  diploma  from  a  regular  medical 
society;  nor  to  compel  any  student  who  may  have  com- 
menced his  studies  previous  to  the  first  day  of  January, 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  five,  to  be  examined 
by  such  society  and  licensed  in  the  manner  aforesaid, 


if  such  student  shall  choose  to  study  four  years  and  be 
licensed  in  the  manner  now  prescribed  by  law ; 

PROVIDED,  however,  that  none  of  the  societies  es- 
tablished as  aforesaid  shall  proceed  to  the  examination  of 
any  student  in  order  to  license  him  for  the  practice  until 
such  student  shall  have  produced  satisfactory  testimony 
that  he  has  regularly  studied  physic  or  surgery  or  both 
as  the  case  may  be,  with  one  or  more  reputable  prac- 
titioner or  practitioners  for  the  term  of  three  years. 

XIV.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  it  shall  be  in 
the  power  of  the  Legislature  to  alter,  modify  or  repeal 
this  act  whenever  they  shall  deem  it  necessary  or  ex- 
pedient. 

XV.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  the  act  entitled 
"An  Act  to  Regulate  the  Practice  of  Physic  and  Surgery 
in  this  State"  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  repealed  from 
and  after  the  first  day  of  September  next. 

XVI.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  if  there  should 
not  be  a  sufficient  number  of  physicians  and  surgeons  in 
any  of  the  counties  of  this  State  to  form  themselves 
into  a  Medical  Society,  by  virtue  of  this  act,  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  such  physicians  and  surgeons  to  associate 
with  the  physicians  and  surgeons  of  an  adjoining  county 
for  the  purposes  hereby  contemplated. 

XVII.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  if  the  physicians 
and  surgeons  of  any  county  or  counties  of  this  State 
should  not  meet  and  organize  themselves  at  such  time 
and  place  as  required  by  this  act,  it  shall  be  lawful  for 
them  to  meet  at  such  other  time  as  a  majority  of  them 
shall  think  proper,  and  their  proceedings  shall  be  as 
valid  as  if  such  meeting  had  been  had  at  the  time  as  pro- 
vided for  by  this  act. 

XVIII.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  this  act  shall 
be  declared  to  be  a  public  act. 

Considering  the  circumstances  preliminary  to 
the  passage  of  the  act,  and  the  fact  that  at  first 
the  creation  of  only  certain  county  societies  or  a 
district  society  was  to  be  asked  for  from  the 
Legislature,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  county 
societies  should  have  been  given  a  place  co-ordi- 
nate with  that  of  the  State  society  in  the  matter 
of  licensing  physicians  for  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine. On  the  other  hand,  the  State  society  was 
given  a  position  of  commanding  importance, 
and  of  definite  supremacy,  inasmuch  as  it  could 
review  the  refusal  of  a  county  society  to  allow  a 
properly  qualified  medical  student  to  practice, 
and  furnish  him  with  a  license  in  spite  of  the 


negative  action  of  the  local  society.  It  was  evi- 
dently intended,  how^ever,  that,  though  the  two 
organizations,  the  State  and  the  county  society, 
drew  their  right  to  existence  from  the  same  act 
of  the  Legislature,  they  should  be  independent, 
and  above  all,  that  the  State  society  should  not 
be  determined  in  its  action  by  that  of  the  county 
societies.  It  seems  worth  while  noting  this  be- 
cause, some  seventy-five  years  later,  there  was 
question  of  the  relationship  between  the  county 
societies  and  the  State  society,  and  the  independ- 
ence of  the  State  organization  was  somewhat 
impugned,  though  without  sufficient  reason. 


CHAPTER  II. 

REGULATION    OF   THE   PRACTICE   OF   MEDI- 
CINE IN  THE  PROVINCE  OF  NEW  YORK. 

This  act  of  1806  was  by  no  means  the  first 
attempt  to  regulate  the  practice  of  medicine  in 
the  State  of  New  York,  nor  in  the  colony  of  New 
York  before  the  Revolution.  It  is  rather  inter- 
esting to  trace  the  gradual  progress  of  the  various 
attempts  to  give  practitioners  of  medicine  and 
surgery  a  dignified  place  before  the  people,  and 
at  the  same  time,  while  not  infringing  the  liberty 
of  the  individual  too  much,  keep  quacks  and 
charlatans  from  occupying  too  prominent  a  place 
in  the  life  of  the  colony,  and  especially  the  city. 
The  first  mention  of  any  legal  regulation  of  the 
practice  of  medicine  came  in  the  shape  of  an 
answer  to  the  petition  of  the  barber-surgeons  at 
New  Amsterdam  that  they  should  have  a  monop- 
oly of  shaving  and  tending  to  the  wounds  of 
the  inhabitants.  It  is  couched  in  terms  that  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  there  was  some  basic  law  in 
the  colony  to  which  the  members  of  the  chirur- 
gical  profession  wished  to  have  an  amendment  or 
a  codicil. 

The  following  is  from  the  Dutch  Records,  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1652: 

"On  the  petition  of  the  chirurgeons  of  New  Amster- 


dam,  that  none  but  they  alone  be  allowed  to  shave;  the 
director  and  council  understand  that  shaving  doth  not 
appertain  exclusively  to  chirurgery,  but  is  an  appendix 
thereunto ;  that  no  man  can  be  prevented  operating  on 
himself,  nor  to  do  another  the  friendly  act,  provided  it 
be  through  courtesy,  and  not  for  gain,  which  is  hereby 
forbidden.  It  was  then  further  ordered  that  ship- 
barbers  shall  not  be  allowed  to  dress  any  wounds  nor 
minister  any  potions  on  shore,  without  the  previous 
knowledge  and  special  consent  of  the  petitioners,  or  at 
least  of  Dr.  La  Montague." 

This,  says  the  editor  of  the  New  York  City 
Medical  Register,  is  the  earliest  order  on  record 
regulating  the  practice  of  medicine  in  the  State. 
— Medical  Register,  City  of  Nezu  York,  1865,  p. 
108. 

Some  five  years  later  there  is  a  city  ordinance 
which  attempts  to  place  upon  surgeons  a  burden 
against  which  the  profession  has  ahvays  and  very 
properly  and  successfully  protested.  It  is  Dr 
Toner  particularly  who  calls  attention  to  the  false 
spirit  of  the  legislation,  and  we  quote  the  passage 
from  him : 

"As  showing  the  spirit  of  legislation  of  the  times 
in  relation  to  medical  men,  the  following  is  worthy 
of  note.  The  act  aimed  to  impose  a  sort  of  detective- 
duty  upon  the  surgeon,  which  could  not  be  submitted 
to  by  the  profession,  and  no  doubt  was  a  dead  letter. 

In  December,  1657,  a  city  ordinance  was  passed  by 
the  schout,  burgomaster  and  schepens,  giving  notice 
"to  all  chirurgeons  of  the  city,  that  when  they  are 
called  to  dress  a  wound,  they  shall  ask  the  patient  who 
wounded  him  and  that  information  thereof  be  given  to 
the  schout." 

The  first  serious  attempt  at  the  formal  regula- 
tion of  the  practice  of  medicine  of  which  we  have 
a  definite  account  came  shortly  after  the  English 
took  possession  of  New  York  City  and  assumed 
the  government  of  the  colony  of  New  York  and 
certain  neighboring  territory.  It  was  in  1664 
that  Col.  Nicolls,  the  personal  representative  of 
the  Duke  of  York,  appeared  in  Manhattan  Bay 
with  an  English  fleet,  and  forced  the  Dutch  to 
surrender  Manhattan  Island.  A  new  government 
was  at  once  set  up,  and  two  delegates  were  sum- 


moned  from  each  town  in  the  colony,  to  draw  up 
a  Code  of  Laws,  the  Duke's  Laws,  as  they  were 
called,  which  the  colony  in  and  around  New  York 
had  to  accept  perforce.  Dr.  Toner  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  that  these  laws  applied  to  a  number  of 
other  places  besides  Manhattan  Island,  We 
quote  accordingly  the  passage  from  him,  and 
also  the  special  paragraph  of  the  laws,  referring 
to  the  practice  of  medicine : 

"In  these  Duke  of  York's  laws  enacted  about  1665  for 
the  government  of  the  Province  of  New  York,  when 
Nantucket,  Martha's  Vineyard,  Normansland,  and  the 
Elizabeth  Islands  were  all  considered  as  lying  within 
the  Duke's  patent,  a  stringent  law  relating  to  chirur- 
geons,  midwives  and  physicians  was  passed,  which,  as 
it  may  be  found  to  possess  some  historical  interest  and 
is  not  generally  available  to  readers,  is  given  in  full : 

'Chirurgeons,  Midwives,  Physicians :  That  no  per- 
son or  persons  whatever  employed  about  the  bodys  of 
men,  women  or  children,  for  the  preservation  of  life 
or  health  as  chirurgeons,  midwives,  physicians,  or 
others,  presume  to  put  forth  or  exercise  any  act  contrary 
to  the  known  approved  rule  of  art  in  each  mystery  or 
occupation,  or  exercise  any  force,  violence,  or  cruelty 
upon  or  towards  the  body  of  any,  whether  young  or 
old,  without  the  advice  and  consent  of  such  as  are 
skilful  in  the  same  art  (if  such  may  be  had),  or  at 
least  of  some  of  the  wisest  and  gravest  then  present, 
and  consent  of  the  patient  or  patients  if  they  be  mentis 
compotes,  much  less  contrary  to  such  advice  and  con- 
sent, upon  such  severe  punishment  as  the  nature  of  the 
fact  may  deserve ;  which  law,  nevertheless,  is  not  in- 
tended to  discourage  any  from  all  lawful  use  of  their 
skill,  but  rather  to  encourage  and  direct  them  in  the 
right  use  thereof,  and  to  inhibit  and  restrain  the  pre- 
sumptuous arrogance  of  such  as,  through  confidence  of 
their  own  skill  or  any  other  sinister  respects,  dare  boldly 
attempt  to  exercise  any  violence  upon  or  towards  the 
body  of  young  or  old,  one  or  other,  to  the  prejudice  or 
hazard  of  the  life  or  limb  of  man,  woman  or  child.' " 

This  is  practically  a  copy  of  a  law  passed  in 
Massachusetts  in  1649. 

Toner  also  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  a 
number  of  the  ordinances  passed  by  the  city 
council  of  Manhattan  Island,  referred  in  various 
ways  to  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  he  gives 
a  list  of  the  various  acts  with  a  short  digest  of 

II 


their  contents.  This  furnishes  an  excellent  idea 
of  the  trend  of  opinion  with  regard  to  the  proper 
practice  of  medicine,  and  also  serves  to  show  that 
members  of  the  medical  profession  were  grad- 
ually securing  their  rights  as  professional  men, 
and  that  the  efforts  of  the  community  to  protect 
itself  against  contagious  diseases  of  various 
kinds,  and  also  against  the  allurements  of  quack- 
ery, were  gradually  crystallizing  into  proper 
shape. 

The  following  laws  were  enacted  in  New  York 
prior  to  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  Dutch  rec- 
ords show  that  February  2,  1652,  an  order  was 
promulgated,  regulating  the  duties  of  chirur- 
geons.  (See  Medical  Register,  City  of  New 
York,  1865)  :  An  act  allowing  physicians  to 
travel  on  the  Lord's  Day,  enacted  1695,  Stat. 
N.  Y.,  ed.  1691-1751,  p.  23;  An  act  exempting 
physicians  and  chirurgeons  from  performing  the 
duties  of  constable  or  tax-collector,  enacted  1715, 
Stat.  N.  Y.,  ed.  1691-1751,  p.  117;  Physicians, 
doctors  of  physic,  practitioners  of  physic,  and 
surgeons  exempt  from  performing  military  duty, 
except  in  case  of  an  invasion,  section  23,  act  1755, 
Stat.  N.  Y.,  ed.  1752-63,  p.  53  ;  An  act  to  prevent 
infectious  distempers  being  brought  into  this 
colony,  and  to  hinder  the  spreading  thereof, 
enacted  1755,  Stat.  N.  Y.,  ed.  1742-63,  p.  157; 
An  act  to  explain  the  foregoing  act,  enacted  1755, 
Stat.  N.  Y.,  ed.  1752-63,  p.  57;  An  act  to  continue 
the  same,  enacted  1756,  Stat.  N.  Y.,  ed.  1752-63, 
fol.  100;  An  act  to  appropriate  the  money  raised 
by  divers  lotteries  for  erecting  a  college  and  pest- 
house,  enacted  1756,  Stat.  N.  Y.,  ed.  1752-63, 
p.  Ill;  An  act  to  prevent  the  bringing  in  and 
spreading  of  infectious  distempers  in  this  colony, 
enacted  1758,  Stat.  N.  Y.,  ed.  1752-63,  p.  137; 
An  act  to  regulate  the  practice  of  physic  and 
surgery  in  the  city  of  New  York,  enacted  1760, 
Stat.  N.  Y.,  ed.  1752-63,  p.  188;  An  act  to  revive 
an  act  to  prevent  the  bringing  in  and  spreading 
of  infectious  distempers  in  this  colony,  with  an 


addition  thereto,  regulating  the  practice  of  inocu- 
lation for  the  small-pox,  enacted  1763,  Stat.  N.  Y. 
ed.  1752-63,  p.  432;  An  act  continuing  the  fore- 
going act,  enacted  1767,  Stat.  N.  Y.,  p.  498;  An 
act  for  the  better  support  of  the  hospital  to  be 
erected  in  the  city  of  New  York,  for  poor  and 
indigent  persons,  enacted  March  24,  1772,  Stat. 
N.  Y.,  ed.  1763-73,  p.  696;  An  act  for  regulating 
the  practice  of  inoculation  for  the  small-pox  in 
the  City  of  Albany,  enacted  1773,  Stat.  N.  Y.,  ed. 
1763-73,  p.  720;  An  act  to  repeal  an  act  to  pre- 
vent infectious  diseases  in  the  Counties  of  West- 
chester, Dutchess  and  Orange,  so  far  as  it  relates 
to  the  borough  and  town  of  Phillipsborough, 
enacted  1773,  Stat.  N.  Y.,  ed.  1763-73,  p.  791. 

The  most  noteworthy  medical  act  for  the  regu- 
lation of  medical  practice  was  that  passed  in 
1760.  In  his '"Historical  Sketch  of  the  State  of 
Medicine  in  the  American  Colonies  from  Their 
First  Settlement  of  the  Period  of  the  Revolu- 
tion," Dr.  John  B.  Beck  reviews  carefully  the 
necessities  for  regulation  and  the  gradual  evolu- 
tion that  brought  about  legislative  enactments. 
Dr.  Beck's  paper  was  originally  his  annual  presi- 
dential address,  delivered  before  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  at  its  regular 
meeting,  February  i,  1842.  It  was  not  pub- 
lished, however,  until  the  volume  of  transactions 
for  the  years  1850  and  1852,  which  are  all  bound 
together  under  the  title  "Volume  8."  It  seems 
not  unlikely  that  during  the  intervening  nearly 
ten  years,  Dr.  Beck  made  many  additions  to  the 
original  address,  which  in  this  volume  occupies 
almost  sixty  pages. 

Dr.  Beck's  address  has  been  a  mine  of  informa- 
tion for  subsequent  historians,  and  as  he  was  him- 
self a  man  of  wide  reading,  of  broad  and  liberal 
judgment,  as  well  as  of  extensive  experience,  in 
medical  practice  and  his  relationship  to  his  pro- 
fessional brethren,  his  opinions  deserve  to  be 
quoted  as  originally  set  down.  He  does  not  hesi- 
tate to  say  that,  though  New  York  was  not  the 

13 


first  to  attempt  the  legal  regulation  of  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine,  the  province  of  New  York  must 
be  given  undoubted  priority  in  securing  this 
much-to-be-desired  result  effectively.    He  says : 

"The  State  of  New  York,  I  believe,  is  entitled  to  the 
honor  of  adopting  the  first  eflfectual  measures  for  regu- 
lating the  practice  of  medicine.  This  was  not,  how- 
ever, until  so  late  a  period  as  1760,  when  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Province  ordained  that,  'no  person 
whatsoever  should  practice  as  a  physician  or  surgeon, 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  before  he  shall  have  been  ex- 
amined in  physic  or  surgery,  and  approved  of  and  ad- 
mitted by  one  of  his  majesty's  council,  the  judges  of  the 
supreme  court,  the  king's  attorney  general,  and  the 
mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York,  for  the  time  being, 
or  by  any  three  or  more  of  them,  taking  to  their  assist- 
ance for  such  examinations  such  proper  person  or  per- 
sons as  they  in  their  discretion  shall  think  fit.'  If  the 
person  so  examined  was  approved,  a  certificate  was 
given,  allowing  him  to  practice  physic  or  surgery,  or 
both  throughout  the  province.  In  case  of  non-com- 
pliance, the  penalty  was  a  fine  of  five  pounds." 

This  act  that  he  mentions  has  seemed  to  us  so 
important  that  we  prefer  to  quote  it  entirely 
rather  than  to  give  the  gist  of  it,  for  it  is  an 
historical  document  of  primary  importance,  and 
represents  for  New  Yorkers,  particularly,  the 
spirit  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  province,  and  the 
efforts  of  physicians  to  prevent  quackery  better 
than  any  possible  statement  of  medical  conditions 
would  be  able  to  furnish. 

AN  ACT  TO  REGULATE  THE  PRACTICE  OF 
PHYSICK  AND  SURGERY  IN  THE  CITY  OF 
NEW-YORK,  PASSED  THE  loTH  OF  JUNE, 
1760. 

Whereas,  many  ignorant  and  unskilful  Persons  in 
Physick  and  Surgery  in  order  to  gain  a  subsistence, 
do  take  upon  themselves  to  administer  Physick,  and 
practice  Surgery  in  the  City  of  New  York,  to  the  en- 
dangering of  the  Lives  and  Limbs  of  their  Patients ; 
and  many  poor  and  ignorant  Persons  inhabiting  the 
said  City,  who  have  been  persuaded  to  become  their 
Patients,  have  been  great  sufferers  thereby :  For  pre- 
venting such  Abuses  for  the  Future : 

I.  BE  IT  ENACTED  by  his  Honor  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  the  Council,  and  the  General  Assembly,  and 
it  is  hereby  ENACTED  by  the  Authority  of  the  same, 

14 


That,  from  and  after  the  pubHcation  of  this  Act,  no 
Person  whatsoever  shall  practice  as  a  Physician  or 
Surgeon  in  the  said  City  of  New- York,  before  he  shall 
first  have  been  examined  in  Physick  or  Surgery,  and 
approved  of  and  admitted  by  one  of  his  Majesty's 
Council,  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  King's 
Attorney-General,  and  the  Mayor  of  the  City  of  New- 
York,  for  the  time  being,  or  by  auy  three  or  more  of 
them,  taking  to  their  assistance  for  such  examination, 
such  proper  Person  or  Persons  as  they  in  their  discre- 
tion shall  see  fit.  And  if  any  candidate  after  due  ex- 
amination of  his  Learning,  and  skill  in  Physick  and 
Surgery  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  approved  and  admitted 
to  practice  as  a  Physician  and  Surgeon  or  both,  the  said 
Examiners,  or  any  three  or  more  of  them,  shall  give, 
under  their  hands  and  Seals  to  the  person  so  admitted 
as  aforesaid,  a  Testimonial  of  his  Examination  and 
Admission,  and  in  the  form  following,  to  wit : 
To  all  to  whom  these  Presents  shall  come,  or  may  con- 
cern : 

KNOW  YE  That  we  whose  names  are  hereunto 
subscribed,  in  pursuance  of  an  Act  of  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  and  Council  and  General  Assembly,  made  and 

published  at  New- York,  the   Day  of   

in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  ,  entitled,  An  Act,  To  Regulate  the  Prac- 
tice of  Physick  and  Surgery  in  the  City  of  New-York, 

have  duly  examined  ,  Physician 

(or)  Surgeon,  (or)  Physician  and  Surgeon  (as  the 
case  may  be),  and  having  approved  of  his  skill,  have 
admitted  him  as  a  Physician  (or)  Surgeon,  (or)  Physi- 
cian and  Surgeon,  to  practice  in  the  said  Faculty  or 
Faculties  throughout  this  Province  of  New-York. 

In  testimony  whereof,  we  have  subscribed  our  names 
and  affixed  our  Seals  to  this  Instrument,  at  NEW- 
YORK,  this   day  of Anno  Domini,   

One  thousand 

II.  AND  BE  IT  FURTHER  ENACTED,  by  the 
authority  aforesaid,  That  if  any  Person  shall  practice 
in  the  City  of  New- York,  as  a  Physician  or  Surgeon, 
or  both  as  Physician  and  Surgeon,  without  such  testi- 
monial as  aforesaid,  he  shall  for  every  such  offence 
forfeit  the  sum  of  Five  Pounds;  one-half  thereof  to 
the  use  of  the  Person  or  Persons  who  shall  sue  for  the 
same,  and  the  other  Moiety  to  the  Church  Wardens 
and  Vestrymen  of  the  said  City  for  the  use  of  the  Poor 
thereof ;  the  said  Forfeiture  to  be  recovered  without 
costs,  before  the  Mayor,  Recorder,  or  any  one  of  the 
Aldermen  of  the  said  City,  who  are  hereby  empowered 
in  a  summary  way,  to  hear,  try  and  determine  any  suit 
brought  for  such  Forfeiture,  and  to  give  Judgment  and 
to  award  Execution  thereupon. 

IS 


PROVIDED,  That  this  act  shall  not  extend  to  any 
person  or  persons  administering  Physick,  or  Practicing 
Surgery  within  the  said  City  before  the  publication 
hereof;  or  to  any  Person  having  his  Majesty's  Com- 
mission, and  employed  in  his  Service  as  a  Physician  or 
Surgeon. 

It  is  Dr.  Beck  himself  who  calls  attention  to 
the  fact  that  considerably  over  a  century  before 
the  passage  of  this  act  by  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Province  of  New  York,  the  Colony  of 
Massachusetts  had  attempted  the  regulation  of 
medicine  and  the  correction  of  medical  abuses. 
This  first  medical  act  in  this  country  was  passed 
in  1649,  considerably  over  a  hundred  years  after 
the  original  foundation  of  the  colony,  but  it 
would  seem  that  no  special  need  for  the  regula- 
tion of  the  practice  of  medicine  might  have  been 
anticipated  until  there  had  been  a  considerable 
growth  in  population.  It  is  rather  interesting  to 
find  that  this  first  medical  act  contains  as  a 
preamble  what  the  legislators  at  the  time  con- 
sidered the  justifying  principle  of  such  legisla- 
tion. This  principle  as  embodied  in  the  act  is 
the  same  as  that  which  allowed  the  State  to 
punish  and  even  to  take  life  if  necessary.  This 
curious  juxtaposition  of  the  beneficent  medical 
profession  and  the  punitive  law-making  power 
seems  not  to  have  offended  the  logic  or  aroused 
the  sense  of  humor  of  our  good  Puritan  fore- 
fathers ! 


CHAPTER  III. 

EARLY  LAWS  FOR  THE  REGULATION  OF 
MEDICINE  IN  NEW  YORK  STATE. 

Soon  after  the  establishment  of  the  State  Gov- 
ernment, the  Legislature  began  to  pass  laws  with 
regard  to  medical  matters.  The  first  of  these 
was  an  act  to  prevent  the  bringing  of  infectious 
and  contagious  diseases  or,  as  they  were  called 
then,  "infectious  distempers,"  into  New  York 
City.     This  act  was  passed  in  1784,  and  made 

16 


Bedloe's  Island  a  quarantine  station.  Yellow 
fever  was  considered  the  principal  one  of  the  in- 
fectious distempers  to  be  feared,  and  special  pre- 
cautions were  maintained  with  regard  to  vessels 
from  southern  ports  during  the  warm  season. 
This  might  seem  an  unnecessary  precaution  to 
the  modern  medical  mind  unaccustomed  to  think 
of  yellow  fever  as  ever  a  northern  disease.  As 
a  matter  of  fact  several  severe  epidemics  of  the 
disease  occurred  as  far  north  as  Boston ;  New 
York  suffered  repeatedly  from  it  down  almost  to 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century ;  and,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Phila- 
delphia suffered  so  severely  for  several  years  in 
succession  from  this  disease,  that  it  was  thought 
at  one  time,  and  even  seriously  discussed,  that  the 
city  might  have  to  be  abandoned. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  New  York  City's 
influence  was  sufficient  even  at  that  time  to  have 
the  first  medical  law  passed  in  its  favor.  It  was 
not  until  twelve  years  later,  in  1796,  that  the 
effect  of  these  quarantine  regulations  were  ex- 
tended to  other  cities,  though  the  smaller  sailing 
vessels  of  those  times  not  infrequently  went  up 
the  Hudson.  Quarantine  was  established  at 
Hudson  and  Albany  in  1796.  By  this  law  a 
physician  was  appointed  to  inspect  all  vessels  that 
entered  the  harbor,  and  for  this  inspection  the 
fee  was  28  shillings,  about  seven  dollars,  but 
probably  worth  in  buying  power  at  least  three 
times  that  much  in  the  present  time.  Any  vessel 
that  failed  to  report  for  quarantine  after  having 
come  from  an  infected  port  was  liable  to  a  fine 
of  200  pounds  sterling.  This  would  be  equal  in 
value  to  over  $2,500  at  the  present  time.  The 
revenue  that  accumulated  from  such  fines  was  to 
be  used  to  maintain  a  lighthouse  at  Sandy  Hook. 

In  1794  an  act  was  passed  making  quarantine 
regulations  much  more  stringent  than  before,  and 
providing  that  a  lazaretto  should  be  secured  and 
maintained  at  the  expense  of  the  owners  of  ves- 
sels bringing  in  cases  suffering  from  infectious 

2  17 


distempers,  until  all  the  ailing  persons  were  fully 
convalescent. 

In  1796  a  bill  was  passed  appropriating-  Gov- 
ernor's Island,  from  time  to  time  as  it  might  be 
needed,  for  quarantine  purposes,  and  arranging 
for  the  erection  of  temporary  buildings  or  the 
setting  up  of  tents.  This  was  to  be  done  accord- 
ing to  the  wording  of  the  law,  in  spite  of  any 
protest  on  the  part  of  the  Regents  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  New  York,  who  seemed  to  have  had  some 
claim  to  Governor's  Island. 

None  of  these  acts  have  any  reference  to  the 
regulation  of  the  practice  of  medicine,  but  a  law 
passed  March  ^j,  1792,  regulated  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  the  city  and  county  of  New  York. 
According  to  Dr.  McNaughton,  in  his  annual 
address  as  president  in  1837,  this  act  required 
that  the  student  of  medicine  should  study  with 
some  authorized  practitioner  for  two  years,  if  he 
were  a  graduate  of  some  college,  and  for  three 
years  if  he  were  not.  After  this  he  should  be 
examined  by  three  medical  practitioners  other 
than  those  with  whom  he  had  studied,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Governor  and  certain  other  public 
officers.  If  this  examination  proved  favorable 
then  he  received  a  license  to  practice  medicine. 
The  penalty  for  practicing  without  a  license  was 
a  fine  of  seven  pounds  sterling,  a  more  consider- 
able sum  than  it  might  seem  if  the  comparative 
value  of  money  be  considered.  Besides,  the  un- 
licensed practitioner  was  incapable  of  maintain- 
ing a  suit  in  any  court  for  services  rendered. 
Doctors  in  medicine,  that  is,  those  who  had 
graduated  in  regular  medical  schools,  were 
allowed  to  practice  without  a  license.  A  law, 
passed  in  1791,  had  given  permission  for  a  col- 
lege of  physicians  and  surgeons  to  be  established 
by  the  Regents  of  the  University,  and  the  latter 
part  of  the  law  of  1792  evidently  was  intended 
to  recognize  this  institution. 

In  1797  a  very  important  law  regulating  the 
practice  of  medicine  and  embracing  the  whole 

18 


State  in  this  division,  was  passed.     This  it  seems 
worth  while  quoting  entire. 

AN  ACT  TO  REGULATE  THE  PRACTICE  OF 
PHYSIC  AND  SURGERY  IN  THIS  STATE, 
PASSED  THE  23D  OF  MARCH,  1797. 

Be  it  Enacted  by  the  people  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  represented  in  the  Senate  and  Assembly,  That 
from  and  after  the  first  day  of  October  next,  no  person 
whosoever  now  practicing  physic  or  surgery  or  ad- 
ministering medicine  or  performing  surgical  operations, 
shall  continue  to  do  so  within  this  State,  unless  he  shall 
have  produced  satisfactory  evidence  to  the  chancellor, 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  a  Master  in 
chancery,  or  one  of  the  judges  of  the  courts  of  common 
pleas  within  this  State,  that  he  has  practiced  physic  or 
surgery,  or  both,  as  the  case  may  be,  for  the  term  of 
two  years  next  preceding  the  day  aforesaid,  or  in 
the  manner  aforesaid,  shall  have  produced  satisfactory 
evidence  that  he  has  studied  physic  or  surgery,  or  both, 
as  the  case  may  be,  with  one  or  more  reputable  physi- 
cians or  surgeons  for  the  term  of  two  years,  and  shall 
have  obtained  from  the  magistrate  or  officer  before 
whom  such  evidence  shall  be  adduced,  a  certificate  under 
his  hand  and  seal,  that  such  satisfactory  evidence  has 
been  produced  to  him,  and  the  person  in  whose  favor 
any  such  certificate  shall  be  given,  shall  file  the  same  in 
the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  county  wherein  he  resides, 
and  take  a  certified  copy  thereof  subscribed  by  the 
clerk.  And  to  each  and  every  person  who  shall  con- 
tinue so  to  practice  as  aforesaid,  after  the  said  first  day 
of  October  next,  and  shall  not  have  obtained  such  cer- 
tificate and  have  filed  the  same  in  the  manner  afore- 
said, and  shall  thereafter  practice  physic  or  surgery, 
administer  medicine  or  perform  surgical  operations, 
shall  for  every  such  offense  forfeit  the  sum  of  twenty- 
five  dollars,  to  be  recovered  by  action  of  debt  and  with 
costs  of  suit  in  any  court  having  cognizance  thereof, 
and  one-half  thereof  to  the  use  of  the  person  who  shall 
prosecute  for  the  same,  and  the  other  half  to  the  use 
of  the  county  in  which  conviction  shall  be  had,  to  be 
by  order  of  the  court  paid  to  the  treasurer  thereof. 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  from  and  after  the 
first  day  of  October  next,  no  person  whomsoever  (other 
than  such  as  may  practice  physic  or  surgery  in  con- 
formity to  the  aforesaid  section  of  this  act)  shall  prac- 
tice physic  or  surgery,  administer  medicine,  or  perform 
surgical  operations  within  this  State  (except  under  the 
immediate  direction  of  the  physician  or  surgeon  with 
whom  he  serves  an  apprenticeship,  or  studies  to  qualify 

19 


himself  to  become  a  physician  or  surgeon),  unless  he 
shall  produce  to  the  chancellor,  one  of  the  judges  of 
the  supreme  court,  a  Master  in  chancery,  or  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  courts  of  common  pleas,  within  this  State, 
a  certificate  subscribed  by  one  or  more  physicians  or 
surgeons  with  whom  he  has  served  an  apprenticeship, 
for  the  purpose  of  being  taught  the  art  of  physic  and 
surgery,  or  with  whom  he  had  studied  for  this  purpose, 
specifying  and  declaring  that  the  person  in  whose  favor 
such  certificate  is  given,  hath  regularly  studied  physic 
or  surgery,  or  both,  as  the  case  may  be,  with  the  sub- 
scriber or  subscribers  of  such  certificate  for  the  term 
of  four  years,  and  that  he  is  suiBciently  qualified  to 
practice  physic  or  surgery,  or  both,  as  the  case  may  be, 
to  which  certificate,  if  the  subscriber  or  subscribers  be 
resident  within  this  State,  he  or  they  shall  make  oath 
before  either  of  the  magistrates  of  or  officers  herein 
before  mentioned,  and  the  magistrate  or  officer  by 
whom  such  oath  shall  be  administered  shall  then 
endorse  on  such  certificate  a  permit  that  the  person 
therein  named,  is  in  conformity  to  law,  permitted  to 
practice  physic  or  surgery,  or  both,  as  the  case  may  be, 
within  this  State,  and  shall  subscribe  such  permit  with 
his  name  and  affix  his  seal  thereto ;  and  the  person  in 
whose  favor  such  permit  shall  be  granted,  shall  file  the 
same  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  county  wherein  he 
resides,  and  shall  take  a  certified  copy  thereof.  And 
each  and  every  person  who  shall  practice  physic  or 
surgery,  without  such  permit,  and  without  having  filed 
the  same  in  the  manner  aforesaid,  shall  for  every  such 
offense  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  twenty-five  dollars, 
to  be  recovered  and  applied  in  like  manner  as  is  directed 
with  respect  to  the  forfeiture  mentioned  in  the  first  sec- 
tion of  this  Act.  Provided  Always,  that  if  the  person 
in  whose  favor  such  certificate  shall  be  given  shall  pro- 
duce satisfactory  evidence  that  he  has  been  graduated  in 
any  college  or  university  in  this  State  or  elsewhere, 
then  he  shall  be  entitled  to  such  permit  as  aforesaid, 
although  he  shall  not  have  studied  physic  or  surgery, 
or  both,  as  the  case  may  be,  any  longer  than  three  years. 
Provided,  Also,  that  if  any  such  certificate  shall  be  given 
and  attested  to  by  any  one  or  more  physicians  or  sur- 
geons not  resident  within  this  State,  the  same  shall  be 
attested  to  before  and  certified  under  the  hand  and  seal 
of  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court  or  superior  court  of  the 
state  in  which  such  certifying  physicians  or  surgeons 
shall  reside  and  be  produced  to  the  chancellor  or  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  this  State;  and  if  it 
shall  appear  to  the  chancellor  or  judge  that  in  his  esti- 
mation the  certificate  and  signature  of  the  judge  before 
whom  such  attestation  is  made  is  genuine,  he  shall  then 
and  not  otherwise  endorse  thereon  such  permit  as  afore- 

20 


said.  Provided,  Further,  that  if  any  physician  or  sur- 
geon with  whom  the  person  applying  for  such  permit  has 
studied  physic  or  surgery,  or  both,  shall  be  dead  or  not 
resident  within  this  State,  such  permit  may  nevertheless 
be  granted  upon  satisfactory  evidence  being  adduced  of 
such  death  or  non-residence,  together  with  satisfactory 
proof  that  he  has  studied  physic  or  surgery,  or  both,  as 
the  case  may  be,  for  the  term  of  four  years,  in  which 
proof  shall  be  satisfied  with  the  name  or  names  of  the 
physicians  or  surgeons  with  whom  he  has  studied. 

And  Whereas,  upon  sudden  emergency,  it  may  be 
necessary  to  apply  for  aid  from  persons  not  qualified 
to  practice  physic  or  surgery  in  conformity  to  this  Act, 

Be  it  further  enacted,  that  in  every  such  case  it  shall 
and  may  be  lawful  for  any  persons  authorized  by  this 
Act  to  practice  physic  or  surgery,  to  administer  medi- 
cine or  perform  surgical  operations,  but  shall  not  ask, 
demand  or  recover  any  compensation  therefor. 

And  be  it  further  enacted  that  nothing  in  this  Act 
contained  shall  be  construed  to  affect  any  person  who 
may  have  obtained  or  shall  hereafter  obtain  the  degrees 
of  bachelor  or  doctor  of  medicine,  or  any  other 
degree  or  license  conferring  the  right  to  practice  physic 
or  surgery  in  any  academy,  college  or  university  within 
this  State  or  elsewhere,  having  authority  to  confer  such 
degree.  Provided,  that  the  person  having  obtained  or 
who  shall  obtain  such  degree  shall  file  a  copy  thereof  in 
the  oflSce  of  the  secretary  of  this  State,  or  in  the  office 
of  the  clerk  of  the  county  wherein  he  resides.  But 
until  such  copy  shall  be  so  filed,  the  person  in  whose 
favor  such  diploma  shall  have  been  given,  shall  not 
practice  physic  or  surgery  within  this  State  without 
being  liable  to  the  forfeiture  and  payment  of  twenty-five 
dollars,  to  be  recovered  and  applied  as  other  forfeit- 
ures by  this  Act  are  directed  to  be  recovered  and 
applied. 

And  be  it  further  enacted  that  nothing  in  this  Act 
shall  be  construed  so  as  to  prevent  any  physician  or 
surgeon,  residents  in  any  other  State,  from  practicing 
within  this  State,  upon  any  particular  occasion  upon  the 
special  request  of  a  physician  or  surgeon  entitled  by 
this  Act  to  practice  physic  or  surgery  within  this  State. 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  if  any  person  shall 
counterfeit  any  certificate  or  permit  intended  by  this 
Act,  and  shall  be  thereof  convicted  in  the  Supreme 
Court  or  any  circuit  court  or  court  of  general  sessions 
of  the  peace,  the  court  shall  in  their  discretion  punish 
the  offender  by  fine  and  imprisonment,  and  the  persons 
so  convicted  for  practicing  physic  or  surgery,  shall 
never  thereafter  be  permitted  to  practice  physic  or 
surgery  within  this  State.  Provided,  always,  that  such 
fine  shall  not  exceed  one  hundred  dollars. 


And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  the  Act  entitled,  "An 
Act  to  Regulate  the  Practice  of  Physic  and  Surgery  in 
the  City  and  County  of  New  York,"  shall  be  and  hereby 
is  repealed  from  and  after  the  said  first  day  of  October 
next. 

This  is  the  act  of  1792  already  referred  to.* 
We  have  already  noted,  in  the  first  chapter, 
the  difficulty  that  was  encountered  in  passing  the 
law  establishing  the  State  Medical  Society  and 
the  County  Medical  Societies,  in  April,  1806,  and 
how  nearly  it  failed  of  passage.  It  seems  in- 
teresting to  recall,  then,  that  earlier  in  this  same 
session,  on  February  28,  1806,  a  bill  was  passed 
granting  to  a  certain  John  M.  Crous,  the  sum  of 
$1,000  for  a  cure  for  hydrophobia,  which  he  was 
said  to  possess.  About  this  same  time  in  Eng- 
land or  a  little  bit  earlier,  the  British  Parliament 
had  appropriated  a  much  larger  sum  than  this  to 
the  famous  charlatan.  Dr.  St.  John  Long,  for  his 
well-known  liniment,  which  was  considered  to  be 
an  infallible  cure  for  rheumatism  of  all  kinds. 
It  is  not  so  surprising,  then,  that  the  Legislature 
in  New  York  should  have  yielded  to  a  like  temp- 
tation under  proper  lobbying  influences,  it  is  to 
be  presumed.  Most  of  the  legislators,  however, 
were  the  descendants  of  the  old  Dutch  burghers, 
and  had  a  proper  sense  of  economy  about  them. 
They  were  not  quite  so  easy  to  fool  as  they 
seemed.  They  fastened  a  good  string  to  their 
appropriation  of  $1,000,  by  requiring  Mr.  John 
Crous  to  file  a  bond  before  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the   State   for  $2,000,  in  order  to  make  ample 

*An  amendment  to   this   was  adopted   subsequently   as   follows: 

LAWS   OF   NEW   YORK,   TWENTY-SEVENTH    SESSION, 

Page    :09,    Chap.    LVIII. 

An   Act  to  Amend  an   Act,   Entitled,   "An   Act  to   Regulate 

THE  Practice  of  Physic  and  Surgery  in  this  State." 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  New  York,  repre- 
sented in  the  Senate  and  Assembly,  That  all  persons  who  have 
practiced  physic  or  surgery,  or  both,  for  the  term  of  two  years 
before  the  first  day  of  March,  1797,  and  all  persons  who  have 
studied  physic  or  surgery,  or  both,  and  shall  obtain  such  proof 
of  such  practice  or  study  as  is  required,  and  file  the  same  in 
the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  county  in  which  he  or  they  may 
reside,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  January  next,  shall  have 
as  full  power  to  practice  physic  or  surgery,  or  both,  as  if  he  had 
filed  the  same  before  the  first  day  of  October,  1797;  anything  in 
■the  said  act  to  the  contrary  thereof  notwithstanding. 

22 


provision  for  the  return  of  the  $i,ooo  if,  after 
the  end  of  four  years,  it  should  prove  that  his 
remedy  was  deceptive  and  did  not  really  produce 
the  cures  that  so  many  witnesses  were  ready  to 
attribute  to  it.  The  prescription  which  was  sup- 
posed to  be  curative  was  to  be  printed  in  the 
newspapers  of  the  State  for  three  weeks  in  order 
to  call  public  attention  to  it.* 


CHAPTER  IV. 

NEW  YORK  AS  A  LEADER  IN  MEDICAL  LAWS. 

The  series  of  laws  relating  to  the  practice 
of  medicine  which  we  have  quoted  shows 
that  New  York,  far  from  being  a  lag- 
gard in  the  matter  of  legal  enactments  for 
the  upholding  of  professional  dignity,  was 
rather  an  exemplar  to  others.  Indeed,  the 
colonial  law  of  1760,  which  we  have  quoted, 
requiring  a  license  from  the  Court,  represents 
the  highest  standard  in  any  of  the  colonies 
for  medical  licensure.  It  was  imitated  not  long 
afterwards  in  the  colony  of  New  Jersey,  the 
assembly  of  which  passed  a  law  practically  cor- 
responding in  every  particular  to  that  of  the 
sister  colony  of  New  York.  The  law  of  1806, 
with  which  this  history  begins,  represented  once 
more  an  acme  of  attainment  in  the  matter  of  the 
maintenance  of  professional  dignity,  and  at  the 
same  tim.e  the  protection  of  the  community  in  all 
medical  matters.  The  fact  that  now  the  licensing 
of  physicians  was  handed  over  to  a  medical  so- 
ciety which  was  supposed  to  conduct  serious 
medical  examinations,  shows  how  much  the  com- 
munity had  learned  to  trust  the  medical  profes- 
sion, and  to  realize  that  its  own  highest  interests 

*Of  the  further  history  of  Crous  and  his  remedy  unfortu- 
nately there  are  no  data  at  hand.  Just  what  his  prescription 
was  I  have  been  unable  to  discover,  nor  even  the  ultimate  result 
as  to  whether  he  was  called  upon  by  reason  of  his  bond  to  re- 
turn the  $1,000.  It  is  of  medical  interest  to  note  that  even  at 
this  early  day  hydrophobia  was  so  often  seen  and  so  much 
feared  at  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century  that  a  bill  like  this 
was  passed  in  the  hope  of  preventing  a  fatal  issue  at  least. 

22 


could  be  best  fostered  by  a  conservative  legal 
regulation  of  medical  practice  in  the  doctors' 
own  hands. 

In  these  modern  times,  when  New  York  is  the 
Empire  State,  with  the  largest  population  of  any 
of  the  States,  and  a  condition  of  culture  and 
education  that  is  worthy  of  so  great  a  common- 
wealth, it  does  not  seem  surprising  that  New 
York  should  have  been  a  leader.  It  must  not  be 
forgotten,  however,  that  New  York,  before  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  by  no  means 
occupied  the  position  of  prominence  among  the 
sister  colonies  and  States  which  she  has  since 
come  to  hold.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  even  North 
Carolina  was  far  ahead  of  her  in  population, 
and  New  York  just  after  the  Revolution  was  only 
fifth  of  the  States  in  the  number  of  its  inhabi- 
tants. It  has  seemed  worth  while,  then,  to  quote 
a  passage  from  an  authoritative  historian,  which 
states  the  position  of  New  York  at  this  time. 
The  quotation  is  from  Roberts'  American  Com- 
monwealth. ( New  York :  Houghton,  Mifflin, 
&  Co.,  1888)  : 

"New  York  was  at  this  time  fifth  of  the  States  in 
population.  Virginia  had  more  than  double  its  number 
of  inhabitants ;  Pennsylvania  had  nearly  one- fourth 
more;  North  Carolina  exceeded  it  by  the  total  census 
of  New  York  City  and  Long  Island;  Massachusetts 
surpassed  it  in  nearly  equal  degree.  When  the  war 
closed,  Maryland  was  its  peer  in  population ;  and 
Connecticut  and  even  Tennessee  followed  it  very  closely. 
Its  share  in  the  inception,  the  organization,  and  the 
prosecution  of  the  war  for  independence  and  its  services 
in  framing  the  constitution  and  in  its  ratification  must 
be  judged  by  these  figures.  Critics  have  paid  the  State 
the  comphment  of  comparing  its  record  with  that  of 
Virginia  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  New  England  as  a 
whole  on  the  other.  History  justifies  the  comparison, 
and  must  render  its  verdict,  with  due  regard  to  the 
population  engaged  and  to  the  difficulties  of  situation 
and  of  mihtary  pressure." 

These  difficulties  can  best  be  measured  by  the 
effect  of  their  removal.  The  State  of  New  York 
grew   in   population,    in    seven    years    preceding 

24 


I790>  by  nearly  one-half,  mounting  up  to  340.- 
000,  it  reached  589,000  in  1800;  and  in  1810, 
with  959,000,  attained  the  second  rank,  very 
nearly  equalling  Virginia,  and  surpassed  it  by 
one-third  in  1820. 

The  center  and  the  west  of  the  State,  which 
had  been  the  scene  of  contest,  became  in  this 
interval  the  chosen  field  of  immigration.  Tryon 
County,  renamed  Montgomery  in  1784,  had 
furnished  territory  for  more  than  a  score  of 
counties ;  and  while  New  York  had  risen  to  the 
head  in  population,  Albany  stood  in  1820  thir- 
teenth in  rank;  while  Ontario,  Genesee  and 
Oneida  were  respectively  second,  third  and 
fourth  in  number  of  inhabitants.  The  incoming 
multitudes  as  early  as  1796  made  necessary  the 
opening  of  a  State  road  from  Whitestown  to 
Geneva,  from  the  Mohawk  to  the  interior  lakes ; 
and  in  1798  roads  were  cut  from  Genesee  to 
Buffalo  and  Lewiston,  while  the  water  routes 
from  the  south,  as  well  as  from  the  east,  were 
much  used.  Before  the  eighteenth  century  closed 
a  regular  postrider  connected  Albany  and  the 
Genesee  Valley  by  trips  every  fortnight,  a  grand 
road  was  opened  from  the  capital  to  Clinton 
county,  and  a  regular  line  of  stages  beside  the 
Hudson  prophesied  the  swifter  travel  of  later 
days. 

Roberts  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
population  of  New  York  State  during  and  just 
after  the  Revolution  was  much  more  mixed 
than  of  any  of  the  other  thirteen  original 
States.  The  comparative  mildness  of  the 
New  York  Colonial  Government  and  the 
commercial  opportunities  afforded  by  the 
harbor  and  the  growing  city,  with  the 
shipping  it  attracted,  served  to  bring  many 
Europeans  of  different  nations  to  Manhattan  and 
the  surrounding  districts.  As  a  consequence,  the 
population  of  New  York  State  in  the  early  days 
of  our  Government  more  nearly  resembled  that 
which  has  come  to  be  the  characteristic  condition 

25 


all  over  the  country  in  recent  years,  than  that  of 
any  other  State.  Somehow  out  of  the  friction 
of  all  these  different  nationalities,  there  came  a 
spirit  of  enterprise,  greater  than  was  to  be  found 
in  any  of  the  colonies  in  which  a  more  exclusive 
racial  condition  obtained. 

To  quote  Roberts  once  more: 

"But  if  in  the  Revolution  the  population  of  the  State 
was  so  inferior,  discipline  and  trial  had  given  it  char- 
acter. If  New  England  was  Puritan  and  Virginia  Cava- 
lier, and  both  positively  English,  New  York  was  the 
first  to  become  distinctively  American.  In  spite  of  its 
strong  loyal  element,  its  separation  from  the  crown 
severed  fewer  ties  of  blood  and  nature,  because  of  the 
diverse  races  which  mingled  on  its  soil.  The  original 
Dutch  current  had  run  by  inter-marriage  into  the  veins 
of  many  families  whose  names  bear  no  testimony  of  it. 
Other  races  also  have  joined  hands.  In  the  framing  of 
the  nation  many  streams  of  race  mingled.  To  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  Philip  Livingston  sub- 
scribed with  the  vigor  of  Scotch  blood ;  Francis  Lewis 
with  the  ardor  of  a  Welshman;  William  Floyd  and 
Lewis  Morris,  with  the  prudence  of  mingled  Welsh 
and  English  descent.  Philip  Schuyler,  the  major  gen- 
eral, was  of  pure  Dutch  blood.  Nicholas  Herkimer, 
the  hero  of  Oriskany,  was  the  son  of  a  German  from 
the  Palatinate.  Alexander  Hamilton,  born  in  the  West 
Indies,  was  Scotch  and  Huguenot  in  origin ;  and  John 
Jay,  the  first  chief  justice  of  the  United  States,  was  of 
clear  Huguenot  strain.  George  Clinton,  the  first  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State,  was  the  son  of  an  Irish  immigrant, 
as  was  General  Montgomery,  who  fell  at  Quebec.  Eng- 
lishmen there  were  who  then  and  afterwards  added 
lustre  to  the  service  of  the  commonwealth ;  but  it  is 
the  distinction  of  New  York  that  its  early  history  was 
molded  in  the  furnace  and  from  the  varied  elements 
which  have  given  to  the  nation  its  character  and  its 
name  as  American." 

Perhaps  it  is  as  a  consequence  of  this,  then, 
that  New  York  has  always  maintained  a  leader- 
ship in  nearly  all  of  the  practical  advances  that 
tend  to  make  life  more  pleasant  and  more  health- 
ful. We  have  made  this  claim  already  with 
regard  to  medical  regulation.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered, in  addition  to  this,  however,  as  we  shall 
see  in  the  proper  place,  that  it  is  to  the  New 

26 


York  Medical  Society  that  is  mainly  due  the 
United  States  Pharmacopeia,  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  committee  to  continue  the  work  on  this 
important  contribution  to  progressive  medical 
science.  Before  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  it  was  to  the  initiative  of  the  New  York 
Medical  Society  that  the  profession  of  the  cen- 
tury owed  the  organization  of  the  American 
Medical  Association. 

New  York's  rapid  progress  in  scientific  medi- 
cine, just  after  the  Revolution,  was  undoubtedly 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  colony 
had  taken  to  heart  the  precious  advice  of  the  old 
poet-philosopher,  that  it  is  the  art  of  a  wise  man 
to  learn  even  from  an  enemy.  During  the  time 
that  New  York  City  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
British,  and  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
occupation  lasted  from  1776  to  1783,  there  were 
many  opportunities  to  see  the  practice  of  the 
British  Army  surgeons,  many  of  whom  were  men 
of  wide  learning,  of  the  best  training,  and  of 
large  experience.  Physicians  might  not  be  able 
to  go  abroad,  but  some  good  opportunities  were 
provided  them  at  home.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
they  were  taken  advantage  of.  A  previous  op- 
portunity of  nearly  the  same  kind  had  occurred 
during  the  French  and  Indian  Wars,  only  ten 
years  before,  and  it  is  Toner  who  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  of  how  much  the  physicians  of  the 
colony  must  have  gained  from  contact  with  the 
British  Army  surgeons. 

As  Toner,  in  his  "Medical  Progress,"  says : 

"The  war  which  resulted  in  the  conquest  of  Canada 
gave  perhaps  the  first  material  improvement  to  the  con- 
dition of  medicine  in  America.  The  English  army  was 
accompanied  by  a  highly  respectable  medical  staff,  most 
of  them  landed  in  the  City  of  New  York,  and  con- 
tinued for  some  years  in  the  neighboring  territory, 
affording  to  many  young  Americans,  opportunity  of  at- 
tending military  hospitals  and  receiving  professional  in- 
struction." 

27 


CHAPTER  V. 

QUACKERY  BEFORE  LEGAL  REGULATION. 

It  might  have  been  expected  that  in  a  country 
as  loosely  governed  as  were  the  original  colonies, 
and  under  the  conditions  of  lack  of  opportunities 
for  medical  education  and  proper  medical  train- 
ing, that  quackery  would  have  flourished  exten- 
sively during  the  early  years  of  our  history. 
Conditions,  however,  were  not  as  bad  at  the 
beginning  as  might  have  been  anticipated.  In 
New  England,  at  least,  the  earliest  practitioners 
of  medicine  were  the  clergy,  and  quite  usually 
the  functions  of  the  physician  and  the  divine  were 
performed  for  each  community  by  the  same  indi- 
vidual.    As  Dr.  Beck  remarks : 

"This  combination  has  not  been  uncommon  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  In  the  early  dawn  of  medicine  the 
priests  of  Egypt  and  Greece  collected  and  preserved 
what  was  known  of  the  healing  art,  and  in  the  infancy 
of  every  country  the  same  association  will  probably  be 
found  to  exist.  Nor  is  it  by  any  means  an  unnatural 
one.  Physical  and  moral  evil  are  so  intimately  con- 
nected that  those  who  are  administering  to  the  relief 
of  one  cannot  be  regardless  of  the  other.  Hence,  in  the 
absence  of  the  regular  physician,  the  priest  appears  to 
be  his  most  proper  representative.  Besides  this  the 
character  of  the  first  emigrants  and  the  high  tone  of 
religious  feeling,  which  drove  them  for  an  asylum  to 
this  western  world,  continued  for  a  long  time  to  give  a 
preponderating  influence  to  the  clergy  in  all  secular  as 
well  as  religious  concerns  of  the  colony.  In  the  annals 
of  the  first  colonists,  accordingly,  will  be  found  the 
names  of  several  clergymen  who  practiced  the  healing 
art.  These  men  were  not,  as  might  be  inferred,  mere 
empirics.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  by  no  means  un- 
qualified to  practice  medicine.  For  several  years,  pre- 
viously to  their  leaving  England,  and  anticipating  the 
loss  of  their  situations  as  clergymen,  many  of  them  had 
turned  their  attention  to  the  study  of  medicine,  and  for 
upwards  of  a  century  after  the  settlement  of  New  Eng- 
land, numbers  of  native  clergy  were  continually  edu- 
cated in  both  professions.  Altogether  they  were  a  highly 
respectable  class  of  men.  Besides  being  good  divines, 
they  were  skilled  in  the  medical  learning  of  the  day  and 
many  of  them  appear  to  have  been  good  practical  physi- 
cians.    Besides  the  clergy  some  of  the  first  governors 

28 


of  the  eastern  colonies  also  practiced  physic.  Two  of 
them,  of  the  name  of  Winthrop,  appear  to  have  been 
particularly  celebrated.  One  of  them  was  Governor  of 
Massachusetts,  the  other  of  Connecticut  and  New  Haven. 
Of  the  latter,  Cotton  Mather  says :  'He  was  furnished 
with  noble  medicines,  which  he  most  charitably  and 
generously  gave  away  upon  all  occasions.'  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London,  and  some  of 
his  communications  are  to  be  found  in  their  transac- 
tions." 

Notwithstanding  the  adventitious  circum- 
stances that  gave  many  of  the  early  physicians 
dignity  and  prominence,  and  undoubtedly  added 
to  the  estimation  in  which  all  practitioners  of 
medicine  were  held,  it  readily  can  be  understood 
that  they  represented  only  a  very  few  of  those 
who  practiced  medicine,  and  that  the  standing 
of  most  of  the  others  was,  indeed,  low.  Anyone 
who  will  recall  the  position  occupied  by  the 
apothecaries  who  represented  the  physicians  of 
that  day  in  rural  England,  about  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  will  have  forcibly  im- 
pressed upon  him  the  very  low  station  which  the 
medical  practitioner  in  country  places,  at  least, 
occupied  at  this  time.  Thackeray  gives  pictures 
of  at  least  one  of  them  that  is  neither  creditable 
to  the  personal  standing  of  the  men  themselves, 
nor  to  their  professional  dignity.  There  is  no 
doubt,  however,  that  the  novelist  had  plenty  of 
historical  details  as  the  groundwork  of  his 
picture. 

It  is  not  surprising,  then,  to  find  that  Dr.  Beck 
deprecates  the  condition  of  medical  practice  in 
the  American  Colonies  during  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries.  The  wonder  of  it  is 
that  he  was  large-minded  enough  to  see  that  it 
had  the  good  qualities  of  its  defects  and  that  our 
forefathers  are  by  no  means  so  much  to  blame  for 
the  abuses  that  inevitably  crept  in  at  that  time, 
and  that,  indeed,  if  we  compare  conditions  at  that 
time  with  what  has  come  to  be  the  state  of  affairs 
in  our  more  cultured  nineteenth  and   twentieth 

29 


centuries,  there  will  not  be  room  for  much  con- 
demnation.    Dr.  Beck  said : 

"As  may  naturally  be  presumed,  in  a  country  circum- 
scribed as  the  American  Colonies  were  for  a  long  period 
after  their  original  settlement,  the  medical  profession 
continued  for  a  succession  of  years  in  a  low  and  de- 
graded condition.  In  point  of  respectability  it  undoubt- 
edly stood  lower  than  either  the  legal  or  theological 
professions.  The  religious  difficulties  in  England  had 
filled  the  ranks  of  the  latter  with  men  of  learning, 
talents  and  piety,  while  the  offices  of  honor  and  emolu- 
ment under  the  crown  offered  allurements  sufficiently 
powerful  to  induce  many  who  were  distinguished  in  the 
law  to  emigrate  to  this  western  world.  With  medicine 
it  was  far  otherwise.  It  is  only  in  populous  towns  and 
cities  that  our  art  can  flourish,  and  the  wilds  of  America, 
however  fragrant  they  might  be  with  the  spirit  of  free- 
dom, offered  no  attractions  to  the  medical  men  of  the 
old  world.  The  advantages  attending  an  emigration 
were  too  distant  and  precarious  to  warrant  such  a  step; 
and  accordingly  for  a  long  time,  with  some  few  excep- 
tions, none  but  those  who  had  failed  to  attain  respect- 
ability or  empIo3'ment  at  home  would  venture  on  so 
dangerous  an  experiment.  Nor  were  the  young  native 
phvsicians  for  a  long  time  calculated  to  remedy  the  evil. 
To  become  a  well  qualified  physician  requires  a  course 
of  study  and  a  variety  of  observation  which  was  not  to 
be  obtained  in  any  of  the  colonies.  There  were  neither 
lectures  nor  hospitals  which  could  be  resorted  to,  while 
the  great  expense  attending  a  foreign  education  put  it 
out  of  the  power  of  all  except  a  favored  few  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  only  means  of  becoming  regularly  in- 
structed. Under  such  circumstances  it  was  not  to  have 
been  expected  for  a  long  series  of  years  after  the  first 
settlement  of  the  country  that  our  profession  would  be 
at  all  distinguished  for  character  or  knowledge.  The 
progress  of  civilization,  an  augmenting  population,  to- 
gether with  the  increasing  facilities  of  European  com- 
rnunication,  tended  gradually  to  ameliorate  this  con- 
dition of  things,  and  for  many  years  preceding  the  Revo- 
lution, medicine  could  boast  of  not  a  few  names  who 
shed  a  lustre  upon  the  profession  to  which  they  be- 
longed." 

Just  after  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century- 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  determined  effort 
made  to  secure  legislation  for  the  regulation  of 
medical  practice  in  the  Province  of  New  York. 
A  series  of  publications  pointed  out  the  abuses 

30 


which  existed  and  necessarily  suggested  a  rem- 
edy for  the  evil.  The  remedy,  as  usual,  was  to 
be  found  in  legal  regulation.  The  steps  by  which 
the  sentiment  in  favor  of  such  legislation  was 
created  can  be  traced  to  various  contemporary 
publications.  Dr.  Beck  quotes  particularly  from 
a  paper  by  William  Douglass,  M.D.,  entitled  "A 
Summary,  Historical  and  Political,  of  the  First 
Planting  Profession,  Improvements  and  Present 
State  of  the  British  Settlements  in  North  Amer- 
ica," in  which  the  doctor  does  not  hesitate  to 
state  his  opinion  of  the  medical  evils  of  the  time 
in  a  very  forcible  way.  The  whole  passage  as  it 
is  to  be  found  in  Dr.  Beck's  article  seems  worth 
while  quoting  because  of  its  chastening  character 
for  the  abuses  of  all  times: 

"If  we  may  believe  the  authority  of  Dr.  Douglass,  who 
wrote  about  the  year  1753,  and  of  Smith,*  the  historian 
of  New  York,  the  general  character  of  the  profession 
could  not  have  been  very  elevated,  and  quackery  must 
have  flourished  in  great  perfection.  Douglass  speaks  of 
it  in  the  following  terms :  'In  general,  the  physical 
practice  in  our  colonies  is  so  perniciously  bad  that,  ex- 
cepting in  surgery  and  some  very  acute  cases,  it  is  bet- 
ter to  let  nature,  under  a  proper  regimen,  take  her 
course  than  to  trust  to  the  honesty  and  sagacity  of  the 
practitioner;  our  American  practitioners  are  so  rash 
and  officious,  the  saying  in  the  apocrypha  (38  and  15) 
may  with  much  propriety  be  applied  to  them.  'He  that 
sinneth  before  his  Maker,  let  him  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  physician!'  Frequently  there  is  more  danger 
from  the  physician  than  from  the  distemper.  Our  prac- 
titioners deal  much  in  quackery  and  quackish  medicines, 
as  requiring  no  labor  of  thought  or  composition,  and 
highly  recommended  in  the  London  quack  bills  (in 
which  all  the  reading  of  many  of  our  practitioners  con- 
sists) inadvertently  encouraged  by  patents  for  the  bene- 
fit of  certain  fees  to  some  offices,  but  to  the  very  great 
damage  of  the  subject.'  'In  the  most  trifling  cases  they 
use  a  routine  of  practice.  When  I  first  arrived  in  New 
England  I  asked  a  most  noted  facetious  practitioner 
what  was  their  general  method  of  practice;  he  told  me 
their  practice  was  very  uniform:  bleeding,  vomiting, 
blistering,  purging,  anodynes,  etc. ;  if  the  illness  con- 
tinued,  there    was   repetendi,   and    finally    murderandi; 


"History  of  New  York,  by  William   Smith,  A.M.,   p.   326. 
31 


nature  was  never  to  be  consulted  or  allowed  to  have 
any  concern  in  the  affair.  What  Sydenham  well  ob- 
serves is  the  case  with  our  practitioners :  Aeger  nimia 
medici  diligentia  ad  plures  migret.' "  (From  overzeal 
on  the  part  of  physician,  the  patient  goes  over  to  the 
majority) — an  expression  that  might  very  well  have 
been  adopted  as  a  motto  for  many  generations  of  med- 
ical men  in  the  200  years  since  it  was  written. 

William  Smith,  who  wrote  a  history  of  New 
York  from  the  first  discovery  to  the  year  1732, 
notes  another  effort  to  influence  public  opinion 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  legal  regulation 
of  medicine,  made  in  the  same  year.    He  said  : 

"The  necessity  of  regulating  the  practice  of  physic, 
and  a  plan  for  that  purpose,  were  strongly  recommended 
by  the  authors  of  the  Independent  Reflector  in  1753, 
when  the  City  of  New- York  alone  boasted  the  honor 
of  having  above  forty  gentlemen  of  that  faculty." 

Smith  wrote  in  1758,  and  not  unnaturally  had 
something  to  say  about  the  abuses  existing  in  his 
own  time,  in  telling  the  story  of  the  earlier  times. 
He  said  further: 

"Few  physicians  among  us  are  eminent  for  their  skill. 
Quacks  abound  like  locusts  in  Egypt,  and  too  many 
have  recommended  themselves  to  a  full  practice  and 
profitable  subsistence.  This  is  the  less  to  be  wondered 
at,  as  the  profession  is  under  no  kind  of  regulation. 
Loud  as  the  call  is,  to  our  shame  be  it  remembered,  we 
have  no  law  to  protect  the  lives  of  the  King's  subjects, 
from  the  mal-practice  of  pretenders.  Any  man,  at  his 
pleasure,  sets  up  for  physician,  apothecary  and  chirur- 
geon.  No  candidates  are  either  examined  or  licensed, 
or  were  sworn  to  fair  practice." 

Not  much  immediate  improvement  was 
brought  about,  even  by  the  Act  of  1760.  It  can 
readily  be  understood  that  the  system  of  quack- 
ery would  have  so  thoroughly  established  itself 
as  not  easily  to  be  eradicated,  and  then  besides, 
the  legislation  was  not  retroactive,  nor  could  it 
be,  according  to  English  law,  and  consequently 
all  those  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  medicine,  however  unworthy  their  methods, 
or    however    incomplete    their    education,    were 

32 


allowed  to  continue.  Accordingly,  it  is  not 
surprising  to  find  Dr.  Beck  quoting  Dr.  Middle- 
ton,  who  gives  a  rather  striking  arraignment  of 
the  condition  of  affairs  toward  the  end  of  the 
first  decade  after  the  legal  regulation  of  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  was  supposed  to  have  been 
accomplished.  Dr.  Middleton,  who  was  a  thor- 
oughly competent  and  reasonably  conservative 
witness,  said  in  1767: 

"Yet  many,  too  many,  are  the  instances,  even  in  this 
place,  of  men,  otherwise  valuable  for  their  penetration 
and  good  sense,  who  have  given  up  their  own  judg- 
ments to  the  opinions  of  the  credulous  vulgar ;  and 
joining  in  the  belief  of  nostrums,  or  secret  cures,  have 
countenanced  and  even  employed  the  most  obscure  and 
superficial  traders  in  physic.  While  the  practitioner  of 
modesty  and  real  merit,  conscious  of  his  own  integrity 
and  knowledge,  and  scorning  the  little  arts  of  such 
licensed  freebooters  and  secret  homicides  or  to  stoop 
to  the  unreasonable  humors  or  petulance  of  every  simple 
employer,  has  often  had  very  circumscribed  practice ; 
or  has  been  abandoned  in  favor  of  some  ignorant  or 
mercenary  sycophant.  This  conduct  in  such  men  will 
ever  discourage  genuine  worth  and  the  prospect  of  far- 
ther discoveries  in  that  useful  profession ;  which  in  all 
time,  and  among  all  polite  nations,  has  ever  been 
esteemed  honorable,  and  worthy  of  men  of  the  first 
rank  and  learning. 

Such  being  the  state  of  physic  here,  what  wonder  is 
it  that  this  city  should  be  pestered  in  so  remarkable  a 
manner  with  the  needy  outcasts  of  other  places,  in  the 
characters  of  doctors ;  or  that  this  profession  of  all 
others,  should  be  the  receptacle  and  resource  for  the 
refuse  of  every  other  trade  and  employment?  The 
wonder  indeed  is  that  we  should  be  such  dupes  to  their 
effrontery  as  to  employ  them,  or  buy  their  pernicious 
compositions ;  not  that  they  should  frequent  so  bene- 
ficial a  market.  So  amazingly  easy  of  belief  are  some 
people  in  these  miracle-mongers,  that,  as  if  there  was 
something  creative  in  the  name  of  Doctor,  seldom  any 
other  test  of  their  skill  is  required  than  their  assuming 
that  title;  so  that  this  appellation  with  a  competent 
presence  of  mind  and  a  string  of  ready-coined  cures, 
carefully  propagated  by  such  as  find  their  account  in 
carrying  on  the  cheat,  have  seldom  failed  of  procuring 
traffic  in  New- York."  * 


*"A  Medical  Discourse,  or  an  Historical  Inquiry  into  the 
Ancient  and  Present  State  of  Medicine." — New  York,  Hugh 
Gaine,    1760. 

3  33 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Though  this  act  of  the  Legislature  of  April  4, 
1806,  formally  created  medical  societies  with 
legal  sanction  in  the  State  of  New  York,  there 
had  been  at  least  one  important  medical  society 
fully  organized,  for  over  half  a  century  before 
this,  of  the  proceedings  of  which  we  have  only 
some  hints  until  towards  the  end  of  the  century 
when,  for  more  than  a  decade,  the  full  minutes 
are  extant.  There  is  at  the  New  York  Academy 
of  Medicine  a  manuscript  note  book  belonging  to 
Dr.  John  Bard,  of  New  York,  bearing  the  date 
1749,  the  first  paper  in  which  has  the  title,  "An 
Essay  on  the  Nature  of  Ye  Malignant  Pleurisy 
that  Proved  so  Remarkably  Fatal  to  the  Inhabi- 
tants of  Huntington,  L.  I.,  and  some  other  places 
on  Long  Island,  in  the  winter  of  the  year  1749, 
drawn  up  at  the  request  of  a  Weekly  Society  of 
Gentlemen  in  New  York,  and  addressed  to  them 
at  one  of  their  meetings."  This  Medical  Society 
seems  to  have  held  regular  meetings  or  at  least 
to  have  continued  its  existence  more  or  less  con- 
tinuously down  to  the  last  decade  of  the  century, 
when  it  was  merged  in  another  society  called  the 
New  York  State  Medical  Society,  of  which  we 
shall  have  much  to  say  presently. 

Twenty  years  after  Dr.  Bard's  paper  was  read 
before  it.  Dr.  Peter  Middleton,  in  his  introduc- 
tory lecture,  at  the  opening  of  the  medical  school 
in  King's  College,  November,  1769,  notices,  as 
one  of  the  advantages  of  the  medical  profession, 
the  institution  of  societies,  or  well-regulated 
associations  of  gentlemen,  for  promoting  the 
honor  of  the  profession,  and  adds,  "And  permit 
me  to  add,  as  one  of  the  many  instances  of  the 
utility  of  these  societies,  that  whatever  merit 
there  is  in  the  present  institution,  it  was  first 
planned  and  concluded  upon  in  a  medical  society 
now  subsisting  in  this  place,  and  may  it  long 
subsist." 

Dr.  Bard's  first  paper  shows  that  the  scientific 

34 


character  of  the  proceedings  of  this  medical 
society  of  old  New  York  City  was  well  up  to  the 
standard  that  might  be  expected  in  a  wide- 
awake community.  The  closing  sentences  of  his 
paper  are,  indeed,  not  unlike  those  which  might 
be  found,  if  not  in  quite  the  same  words,  cer- 
tainly expressing  the  same  ideas,  even  in  our 
own  times.  The  touch  with  regard  to  the  pos- 
sibility of  drugs  and  other  remedial  measures 
proving  rather  harmful  than  helpful,  in  spite  of 
confidence  and  much  observation,  is  indeed  quite 
modern.  Dr.  Bard  seems  to  have  realized  quite 
well  the  limitation  of  the  art  that  he  was  practic- 
ing, and  must  have  counted  on  having  many  sym- 
pathetic auditors  who  also  appreciated  the  many 
possibilities  of  error,  in  the  medical  empiricism 
of  the  day. 

Dr.  Bard  said: 

■'From  this  account,  Gentlemen,  of  acute  Diseases, 
what  sagacity  and  caution  appear  to  be  necessary  in 
the  Physical  Management  of  them?  Where  a  mistake 
as  to  the  real  nature  of  a  disorder,  the  true  intention  of 
the  cure,  or  application  of  Remedies,  must  infallibly 
pervert  the  order  and  economy  of  Nature,  in  digesting 
and  expelling  the  Disease,  and  very  much  endanger  the 
Patient.  It  was  this  happy  Sagacity,  joined  with  a 
Natural  Physical  Genius,  which  (more  than  his  learn- 
ing) gave  Dr.  Radclif  his  Fame,  and  made  his  Practice 
so  remarkably  successful. 

It  was  from  these  Reflections,  Dr.  Sydenham  used  to 
say.  He  thought  it  as  much  incumbent  upon  a  Physician 
to  Read  Nature  as  Books.  And  Sir  William  Temple, 
convinced  of  these  truths,  queried  whether  the  General 
Practice  of  Physick,  as  it  was  in  all  hands,  had  done 
more  good  or  harm  to  mankind.  From  the  whole. 
Gentlemen,  I  think  it  Necessarily  follows.  That  tho' 
the  Arts  of  Physick  and  Surgery  under  a  Judicious 
Direction,  must  derive  great  Advantages  to  Society, 
Yet  these  Arts,  in  the  hands  of  the  rash  or  unskillful, 
too  often  occasion  the  most  fatal  mischief,  as  errors  of 
this  kind  are  errors  of  the  most  dangerous  conse- 
quence." 

Twenty-five  years  after  Dr.  Peter  Middleton's 
mention  of  the  medical  society  as  still  existing  in 
New  York,  and  proving  the  inspiration  for  the 

35 


medical  school  of  King's  College,  there  seems  to 
have  come  a  reawakening  of  interest  in  medical 
organization  among  the  members  of  the  profes- 
sion in  New  York  City.  As  a  consequence,  a 
special  meeting  was  called  and  a  society  organ- 
ized which  received  the  ambitious  name  of  the 
"Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York," 
though  there  is  no  record  of  any  member  of  the 
medical  profession  from  outside  New  York  City 
ever  having  belonged  to  it.  Fortunately  the 
records  of  this  society  have  been  preserved,  and 
the  original  minute  book  was  presented  to  the 
Academy  of  Medicine  by  Dr.  Samuel  Francis, 
of  Newport,  the  son  of  the  late  Dr.  John  R. 
Francis,  of  New  York,  to  whose  interest  in  medi- 
cal historical  matters  is  doubtless  due  the  pres- 
ervation of  this  precious  record  of  old-time 
medical  society  meetings  in  New  York  City. 

The  title  of  this  book  is  "Minutes  of  the  Medi- 
cal Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  from 
November  14,  1794,  to  July  8,  1806."  In  the 
minutes  of  the  first  meeting  it  is  recorded  that 
"A  Number  of  medical  gentlemen,  wishing  to 
associate  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  friendly 
professional  intercourse,  determined  to  meet  at 
the  City  Hall  on  the  evening  of  November  14, 
1794,  where  there  appeared  Drs.  John  Charlton, 
Thos.  Jones,  Samuel  Bard,  Malachi  Treat,  Richard 
Bayley,  Louis  Faugeres,  James  Tillary,  Sam- 
uel Nicoll,  Ab.  Bainbridge,  David  Brooks,  Wm. 
P.  Smith,  John  Gamage,  Wm.  Hammersley,  John 
Onderdonk,  George  Anthon,  J.  R.  B.  Rodgers, 
Wm.  Post,  Wm.  Lawrence.  Dr.  Charlton  was 
appointed  chairman." 

The  minutes  of  the  first  meeting  then  proceed : 

"After  some  conversation  on  the  subject  of  the  meet- 
ing, it  was  unanimously  resolved,  that  the  present 
associates  will  on  the  dissolution  of  the  Society,  known 
by  the  name  of  the  Medical  Society,  form  themselves 
into  a  Society  by  the  name  and  style  of  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  that  they  will 
use  the  seal  of  the  same." 

36 


From  this  it  seems  evident  that  the  medical 
society  mentioned  by  Dr.  Bard,  and  twenty  years 
later  by  Dr.  Middleton,  still  continued  to  exist, 
though  perhaps  there  had  been  some  lapse  of 
interest  in  its  meetings.  Certain  it  is  that  it  was 
still  considered  as  so  pre-empting  the  ground 
which  the  new  medical  society  was  to  take,  that 
the  new  organizers  considered  that  they  would 
only  properly  have  an  existence  after  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  previous  medical  society.  While 
there  is  some  doubt  about  it,  from  the  way  the 
last  sentence  reads,  it  has  even  been  suggested  as 
possible  that  they  had  resolved  to  use  the  seal  of 
the  old  society. 

It  is  evident,  even  from  the  rather  scanty 
account  of  the  proceedings  of  this  society  which 
we  possess,  that  it  took  a  prominent  place  in  the 
medical  life  of  New  York  City  at  this  time,  and 
that  it  was  appealed  to  with  confidence  on  mat- 
ters of  public  health.  It  is  interesting,  too,  to 
find  that  at  this  early  date  the  medical  society 
took  on  itself  to  point  out  the  ravages  that  epi- 
demic diseases  made  in  the  city,  and  to  suggest 
what  means  would  be  best  suited  to  suppress 
these  epidemics  and  minimize  their  dangers  as 
far  as  possible.  The  Society  had  not  been  in 
existence  for  a  year  before  the  Governor  of  New 
York  State  appealed  to  it  with  regard  to  the  epi- 
demic prevailing  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city, 
as  a  consequence  of  which  commercial  relations 
between  New  York  and  Philadelphia  had  been 
stopped  for  a  while.  The  following  minute  shows 
how  the  matter  came  up : 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  held  at  the  usual  place,  Sept.  4,  1795, 

"The  President  read  a  letter  from  the  Governor  of 
the  State  to  him,  as  President  of  this  Society,  on  the 
subject  of  the  present  alarm  in  consequence  of  the  dis- 
ease in  the  upper  part  of  the  City  for  the  Intercourse 
having  been  stopped  between  this  City  and  Philadelphia 
by  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania's  proclamation. 
After  some  conversation.  Dr.  Bigley,  Dr.  Tillary,  Dr. 
Smith,   Dr.   Mitchell   and   Dr.    Bard   were   appointed   a 


Committee  to  answer  it.     Adjourned  to  meet  at  this 
place  to-morrow  at  12  o'clock  at  noon. 

There  is  no  account  of  the  report  of  this  com- 
mittee, but  the  following  year  there  is  a  report 
of  an  effort  made  by  this  same  committee  to 
arouse  the  mayor,  aldermen  and  commonalty  of 
the  City  of  New  York,  to  a  sense  of  the  danger 
of  such  epidemics  and  the  methods  by  which  they 
might  be  prevented.  This  report  is  all  the  more 
interesting  because  it  established  the  fact  that, 
no  years  ago,  the  medical  societies  of  the  City 
of  New  York  had  begun  that  series  of  complaints 
to  the  municipality  with  regard  to  the  lack  of 
cleanliness  in  the  streets,  which  they  have  con- 
tinued to  make  with  almost  unceasing  regularity 
ever  since. 

The  report  is  as  follows: 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  Feb.  29,  1796. 

On  motion,  resolved  that  a  Committee  be  appointed 
to  point  out  to  the  corporation  of  this  City  the  ravages 
which  the  late  epidemic  made  amongst  that  class  of 
emigrants  which  arrived  in  the  City  during  the  late 
spring  and  summer  seasons,  and  to  recommend  that  a 
suitable  provision  be  made  to  prevent  a  similar  calamity 
in  future.  The  Committee  appointed  Drs.  Bayley,  Til- 
lary  and  Post. 

Resolved,  that  the  above  Committee  do  deliver  to  the 
President  of  this  Society  their  statement,  in  order  that 
it  may  be  by  him  signed  and  presented  to  the  Cor- 
poration. 

Resolved,  that  the  Secretary  cause  the  late  com- 
munications sent  to  the  Corporation  transcribed  in  their 
book  of  Minutes. 

John  Onderdonk,  Secretary. 

The  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Commonalty  of  the  City  of 
New  York,  Gentlemen : 
The  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  hav- 
ing taken  into  their  most  serious  consideration  the 
dreadful  effects  of  the  late  afflicting  calamity  with 
which  this  Metropolis  has  been  visited,  beg  leave  to 
suggest  the  following  observations  to  your  honourable 
board,  as  the  result  of  their  deliberations.  It  would 
be  improper  or  at  least  foreign  to  the  design  of  this 
address  to  enter  into  an  enquiry  whether  the  late  epi- 

38 


•demic  was  imported  or  was  generated  amongst  us, 
their  motive  for  addressing  you  at  this  time  is  a  de- 
sire to  engage  and  at  the  same  time  to  assist  as  far  as 
they  are  able,  your  respectable  board  in  applying  a 
corrective  to  some  of  the  causes,  which  they  conceive 
contributed  to  extend  its  influence  and  increase  its 
malignity. 

On  this  head  they  venture  to  point  out  the  following 
objects,  as  particularly  demanding  the  notice  of  the 
magistrates  and  the  interposition  of  their  authority. 

1.  The  accumulation  of  filth  in  the  streets,  this  being 
composed  chiefly  of  dead  animal  and  vegetable  sub- 
stances, is  when  exposed  to  a  hot  sun,  a  source  of  nox- 
ious effluvia,  which  have  a  tendency  to  produce  the  most 
fatal  effects.  That  such  effluvia  have  been  the  cause  of 
fever  has  been  confirmed  by  repeated  observation  and 
experience  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  They  remark  fur- 
ther that  the  pernicious  practice  of  collecting  in  heaps  on 
vacant  lots  the  above  mentioned  offensive  matter,  for  the 
purpose  of  manure,  as  very  reprehensible,  and  they  have 
no  doubt  it  has  produced  many  instances  of  disease.  This 
was  the  case  (during  the  prevalence  of  the  fever)  at  the 
head  of  George  Street,  in  which  neighborhood  it  raged 
with  peculiar  violence. 

2.  Obstructed  water  drains,  by  occasioning  stagnant 
water,  and  collecting  matter  of  various  kinds  which, 
undergoing  decomposition,  emit  air  of  qualities  ex- 
tremely prejudicial  to  health. 

3.  The  situation  of  lots  in  certain  parts  of  this  city 
where  these  and  the  houses  on  them  are  considerably 
below  the  ordinary  level  of  the  streets,  in  such  places, 
the  necessary  consequences  must  be  an  accumulation 
of  various  substances  which,  under  the  influence  of  heat 
and  moisture,  putrify,  and  thus  contaminate  the  atmos- 
phere, and  communicate  to  it  properties  of  a  nature 
extremely  deleterious. 

4.  The  situation  of  many  of  the  docks  and  shores 
along  the  East  River,  it  is  observed  that  in  many  places 
large  surfaces  of  mud  are  exposed  to  low  water,  which 
emit  (during  the  heat  of  summer)  an  intolerable 
stench,  and  this  evil  is  greatly  increased  by  the  practice 
of  filling  in  docks  with  every  species  of  filth  collected 
from  the  streets,  which  prove  an  unfailing  source  of 
Tinwholesome  air.  Add  to  this  the  mode  of  erecting 
stores  on  piles,  leaving  a  space  under  them,  filled  with 
stagnant  water,  which  is  also  a  receptacle  for  every  spe- 
cies of  filth.  When  they  recollect  that  the  malignant 
effects  of  the  late  epidemic  were  principally  confined  to 
those  who  resided  on  or  in  the  vicinity  of  the  new 
made  grounds  on  the  south  side  of  the  city,  they  cannot 
but  express  their  appreciation. 

5.  That  the  extension  of  such  grounds,  further  into 

39 


the  river,  for  the  purpose  of  building  thereon,  may  be 
productive  of  the  most  serious  effect  on  the  health  of 
the  inhabitants. 

To  the  causes  above  enumerated,  others  might  with 
propriety  be  added,  which  endanger  the  health  of  the 
Citizens,  such  as  slaughter  houses,  manufactories  of 
soap  and  candles,  sillum,  leather,  starch,  &c.  In  laying 
this  detail  before  you,  they  cannot  conclude  without  de- 
claring that,  in  their  opinion,  the  malignity  and  fatality 
of  the  late  fever  was  greatly  influenced  by  the  afore- 
mentioned causes,  and  were  it  necessary,  they  could 
adduce  the  authority  of  the  most  eminent  Physicians 
and  Philosophers  in  corroboration  of  this  opinion,  and 
therefore  with  confidence  they  respectfully  submit  it  to 
your  serious  consideration  and  hope  that  its  importance 
to  the  health  and  reputation  of  the  City  will  receive, 
as  it  undoubtedly  claims,  your  early  and  due  attention." 

We  might  consider  that  perhaps  the  medical 
society  of  over  a  hundred  years  ago  would  have 
very  little  cause  for  complaint  as  to  the  substitu- 
tion of  drugs  or  the  use  of  its  name  by  some 
enterprising  druggist  for  advertising  purposes 
without  due  warrant.  One  of  the  minutes,  how- 
ever, shows  that  this  was  one  of  the  difficulties 
the  Society  had  to  encounter  before  the  end  of 
the  second  year  of  its  existence,  and  it  is  encour- 
aging to  find  that  the  members  met  the  issue 
squarely  and  stated  that  if  the  unwarranted  prac- 
tice of  claiming  to  have  their  authorization  were 
continued,  they  should  use  all  possible  legal 
measures  to  prevent  the  abuse. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  held  at  the  usual  place,  Nov.  lo,  1796. 

It  having  been  represented  to  this  Society  that  Messrs. 
Lawrence  &  Schefllin  (whose  store  was  formerly  in- 
spected by  this  Society)  still  continued  to  style  it  In- 
spected Store,  the  Agreement  between  this  Body  and 
Mr.  Lawrence  on  that  subject  having  long  since  ceased, 
wherefore. 

Resolved  that  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  state  to 
Messrs.  Lawrence  &  Schefflin  the  impropriety  of  advertis- 
ing their  Drugs  as  inspected  by  this  Society,  being  an 
injury  to  us,  to  dealers  in  drugs  and  Medicines,  and  to 
the  Community,  and  to  inform  them  that  if  it  be  con- 
tinued, the  Society  will  be  obliged  to  protect  themselves 
for  any  blame  which  may  be  thrown  on  them." 

40 


At  the  beginning  of  1796  it  is  evident  that 
there  was  considerable  disquietude  felt  as  to  the 
possibility  of  an  epidemic  during  the  year.  New 
York  had  recently  had  some  sad  experiences  in 
this  matter;  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  old  com- 
mittee on  infectious  diseases  was  reappointed  as 
an  advisory  board  to  prepare  a  report  for  the  city 
authorities. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  January  12,  1796, — On  Motion,  resolved  that 
a  Committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  report  what  pre- 
cautions shall  be  recommended,  by  this  Society,  to  the 
City  Corporation,  to  be  taken  in  order  to  prevent  the 
generation  among  ourselves,  or  the  spread  (if  imported) 
of  any  malignant  or  infectious  disease  in  future.  Doc- 
tors Bayley,  Post  and  Tillary  were  appointed." 

In  the  springtime  of  1796  a  second  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  representative  status  of  the  medi- 
cal society  is  to  be  found  in  communication  from 
the  Governor  of  the  State,  Mr.  John  Jay,  asking 
for  an  opinion  with  regard  to  the  building  of 
hospitals  for  contagious  diseases.  As  usual,  a 
committee  was  appointed  for  this  purpose,  an 
extra  meeting  having  been  called  in  order  to 
receive  the  Governor's  communication  and  take 
action  upon  it,  without  delay. 

"Extra  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  26th  of  April,  1796.  A  letter  from  Gov. 
Jay  was  read,  requesting  the  opinion  of  the  members  of 
the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  on  a 
plan  of  a  Lazaretto  and  observations  thereon,  by  Dr. 
Saml.  Bard.  The  Society  went  into  the  consideration 
of  the  plans  and  after  some  debate  it  was  Resolved, 
That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  draw  up  an 
answer,  to  the  Governor's  communication  which  shall  be 
under  the  signature  of  the  President.  The  following 
gentlemen  were  appointed  to  that  committee :  the  Pres- 
ident, Drs.  Mitchell  and  Bard." 

In  the  summer  of  1796,  a  further  recognition 
of  the  Medical  Society  came  in  the  shape  of  a 
communication  from  the  recently  organized  com- 
mittee of  health,  of  New  York  City,  asking  for 
the  co-operation  of  the  Society,  which  was,  of 
course,    readily    granted.      This    communication 

41 


seems  to  have  been  presented  at  the  regular  quar- 
terly meeting  of  the  Society  in  July.  At  the  same 
mieeting,  the  response  of  the  then  President  of 
the  Society,  Dr.  John  Charlton,  was  read  and  evi- 
dently approved,  though  there  is  no  mention  of 
this  fact  in  the  minutes.  These  early  records  of 
the  relations  between  the  municipal  authorities 
and  the  Medical  Society  of  the  city  are  consid- 
ered of  sufficient  interest  to  be  reproduced  here, 
and  are  as  follows: 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  12th  July,   1796. 

Present,  Dr.  Tillary  in  the  Chair. 

Drs.  Bainbridge,  Faugeres,  Anthon,  Mitchel,  Ham- 
ersley,  Gamage  and  Onderdonk. 

A  letter  from  John  Murray,  Chairman  of  the  Commit- 
tee of  Heahh,  directed  to  John  Charlton,  President  of 
the  Medical  Societj^  was  read,  and  the  answer  from 
the  President  of  the  Medical  Society  to  John  Murray. 
They  were  ordered  to  be  recorded. 

New  York,  5th  July,  1796. 
Dr.  John  Charlton: 

Sir: 
As  President  of  the  Medical  Society  it  is  proper  to 
inform  you  that  Robt.  Bowne,  Ind.  B.  Coles,  Wm.  I. 
Robinson,  Henry  Will,  Thos.  Childs,  John  Campbell  and 
myself,  have  been  appointed  commissioners  of  health 
for  this  city,  and  that  we  have  formed  ourselves  into  a 
board  for  transacting  such  business  as  may  respect  the 
duties  of  our  appointment,  and  in  order  to  be  the  better 
enabled  to  perform  our  duties,  we  shall  at  all  times  be 
happy  to  consult  with  you  on  such  measures  as  may 
tend  to  the  general  good  and  health  of  our  fellow  citi- 
zens, and  I  am  requested  to  inform  you  that  such  com- 
munications as  it  is  necessary  for  the  physicians  to 
make  to  the  commissioners,  may  be  for  the  present  di- 
rected to  John  Murray,  No.  27  Beekman  Street,  who 
acts  as  Chairman  of  the  board,  and  who  will  at  all 
times  be  happy  to  receive  communications  from  the 
Medical  Society. 

You  will  please  communicate  the  contents  of  this  let- 
ter to  the  members  of  the  Medical  Socty.  in  order  that 
they  may  know  who  the  commissioners  of  health  are 
and  where  to  make  the  communications  required. 
I  remain,  very  respectfully. 

Your  humble  servant, 

John  Murray, 
Chairman  of  the  Commissioners  of  Health. 

42 


Then  follows  the  President's  answer: 

"New  York,  July  6,  1796. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  have  been  this  day  favored  with  yours  of  yesterday, 
The  Med.  Soct.  will  meet  next  Tuesday,  when  it  shall 
be  laid     before  them. 

I  will  venture  to  report,  Sir,  that  the  Society  will, 
at  all  times,  cheerfully  co-operate  with  the  Commis- 
sioners of  health,  in  their  exertions  to  preserve  the 
health  of  our  fellow  citizens,  but  I  should  be  happy 
(previous  to  their  meeting)  to  receive  from  you,  for 
their  information,  some  more  particulars,  intimations 
of  the  nature  of  the  communications,  the  Commission- 
ers would  wish  from  them.  My  motive  for  this  request 
is  that  early  in  the  last  winter,  the  Medical  Society 
were  at  the  pains  of  pointing  out  to  the  Corporation 
of  the  City  the  precautions  which  to  them  appeared  in- 
dispensably necessary  to  the  prevention  in  the  future 
of  a  Calamity  similar  to  that  we  experienced  last  sum- 
mer and  autumn,  not  an  article  of  which  (I  believe) 
has  been  attended  to.  If  the  Commissioners  have,  how- 
ever, and  wish  to  remove  nuisances,  which  are  the  pro- 
ductive causes  of  our  misfortunes,  I  have  no  doubt  the 
Med.  Soct.  will  afford  all  the  aid  in  their  power  to 
effect  so  salutary  a  measure,  or  if  the  Commissioners 
wish  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  Society  to  any  other 
object,  I  am  confident  that  it  need  only  be  signified  to 
them  to  ensure  their  utmost  exertions. 
I  am,  Sir, 

Most  respectfully  your  very  humble  servt., 
John  Charlton, 
Prest.  of  Medical  Soct., 
State  of  New  York. 
Mr.  William  Murray, 

Chairman  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  Health,  N.  York." 

A  curious  feature  of  the  proceedings  of  all  the 
medical  societies  of  this  time,  which  we  find 
frequently  exemplified  in  the  early  transactions 
of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York 
later  on,  is  the  evident  interest  of  the  members 
in  all  the  natural  sciences,  and  the  manifest  feel- 
ing that  a  physician  must  know  something  about 
geology  and  mineralogy,  as  well  as  botany  and 
zoology,  and  the  other  sciences  more  closely 
allied  to  medicine.  One  does  not  often  find  this 
interest  extending  also  to  astronomy,  but  there  is 

43 


a  minute  in  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting  of  the 
Society  for  November  5,  1796,  which  shows  that 
this  also  was  considered  to  be  within  the  sphere 
of  physicians'  interest. 

"  A  letter  from  Doctor  Joseph  Young,  directed  to  the 
President  of  the  Medical  Society,  enclosing  his  pro- 
posals for  printing  a  new  physical  system  of  Astron- 
omy. On  motion,  it  was  resolved  to  subscribe  for  two 
copies  for  the  Medl.  Society." 

Efforts  were  evidently  making  from  time  to 
time  to  secure  the  passage  of  a  law  regulating 
the  practice  of  medicine  in  New  York  State. 
Those  who  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  procure 
medical  legislation  can  readily  appreciate  that 
there  were  a  number  of  disappointments  before 
the  enaction  of  the  law.  Nearly  ten  years  before 
the  first  law  for  the  regulation  of  the  practice 
of  medicine  did  actually  come,  an  extra  meeting 
of  this  first  medical  society  of  the  State  of  New 
York  was  held  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  a 
law  then  said  to  be  before  the  Legislature,  and 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  it,  and 
draft  a  memorial  with  regard  to  it.  The  minutes 
of  this  extra  meeting  are  interesting,  because 
they  also  contain  the  first  reference  to  the  pro- 
posed union  of  the  Library  of  the  Medical  So- 
ciety with  that  of  the  New  York  Hospital.  There 
evidently  had  been  difficulty  in  properly  housing 
and  caring  for  the  books,  and  it  was  thought  this 
could  be  obviated  by  uniting  their  Library  with 
that  already  proving  so  serviceable  at  the  Hos- 
pital. 

"  Extra  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  February  14,  1797. 

Present:  The  President  and  Vice-President,  Drs. 
Faugeres,  Anthon,  Hamniersley,  Gamage,  Bayley  and 
Mitchel. 

The  Society  was  informed  by  the  President  that  this 
meeting  was  called  in  consequence  of  a  law  now  being 
before  the  Legislature  to  regulate  the  practice  of  Phy- 
sic and  Surgery.  After  some  debate,  it  was  Resolved 
that  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  draft  a  mem- 
orial to  the  Legislature  on  the  subject  of  the  practice  of 

44 


Physic,  and  that  the  said  memorial  be  signed  by  the 
President  and  countersigned  by  the  Secretary.  The 
committee  appointed  was  Drs.  Bard,  Bayley  and 
Mitchel. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  Jones,  seconded  by  Dr.  Hosack, 
Resolved,  that  at  our  next  regular  meeting,  the  Society 
do  take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  uniting  their 
Library  with  that  of  the  Hospital." 

Two  months  after  this  extra  meeting  at  a  regu- 
lar meeting  of  the  Society,  the  question  of  the 
union  of  the  libraries  was  further  considered,  and 
eventually  a  union  was  arranged  for.  Nearly  a 
century  later  the  Library  of  the  New  York  Hos- 
pital was  given  to  the  New  York  Academy  of 
Medicine,  so  that  the  original  contribution  of 
volumes  from  the  profession  which  for  many 
years  was  practically  so  placed  as  not  to  be  of 
general  use,  found  their  way  to  a  library  where 
the  New  York  physicians  could  use  them  very 
readily. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,   nth,  April,   1797. 

Present,  the  President  and  Vice-President;  Drs 
Anthon,  Tillary,  Rodgers,  Faugeres,  Gamage,  Bain- 
bridge  and  Hammersley. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  Rodgers,  seconded  by  Dr.  Anthon, 
Resolved,  that  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  con- 
fer with  the  Governors  of  New  York  Hospital  on  the 
subject  of  uniting  the  Library  of  this  Society  with  that 
of  the  Hospital,  and  report  at  our  next  meeting.  The 
following  members  were  appointed  to  that  committee, 
Vice-President,  Drs.  Tillary  and  Hammersley." 

It  is  rather  interesting  to  find  that,  even  at 
this  early  date  and  with  the  limited  number  of 
members  in  the  Society,  there  was  still  some 
difficulty  with  regard  to  the  payment  of  fees. 
Finally  there  seems  to  have  been  an  open  rupture 
between  the  Society  and  one  prominent  member, 
and  most  of  the  minutes  of  one  regular  meeting 
are  taken  up  with  the  consideration  of  his  decla- 
ration that  he  would  pay  neither  fines,  annual 
subscriptions  nor  initiation  fee. 

"April  9,  1799. — The  Treasurer  reported  that  a  Com- 
45 


mittee  had  effected  a  settlement  with  all  the  members 
except  Drs.  Mitchel  and  Gamage,  who  are  still  delin- 
quent. The  Treasurer  further  reported  that  Dr.  Mitchel 
had  declared  in  positive  terms  that  he  would  not  pay 
any  monies  to  the  Medical  Society  either  for  fines, 
annual  subscriptions  or  initiation  fee,  for  which  he 
stands  indebted  to  this  Society  as  appears  by  the  books 
of  the  Treasurer : 

In  consequence  of  which  the  Society  entered  into 
the   following   resolution. 

Dr.  Samuel  L.  Mitchel  having  for  several  years 
attended  as  a  member  of  this  Society  (on  regular  ap- 
plication being  made  to  him),  refused  to  pay  his  dues. 

Therefore,  Resolved,  that  he  be  no  longer  consid- 
ered as  a  member  of  this  Society." 

Not  many  of  the  meetings  contain  reports  of 
the  scientific  proceedings.  It  is  probable  that  this 
was  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  secretary 
could  not  find  the  time  to  make  such  a  report, 
and  accordingly  it  was  neglected.  Occasionally, 
however,  when  a  matter  of  more  moment  than 
usual  in  scientific  matters  came  up  for  discussion, 
a  note  with  regard  to  it  is  to  be  found.  These 
notes  are  all  the  more  interesting  from  their 
rarity.  One  of  these  notes  at  the  meeting  in 
April,  1799,  shows  that  another  cure  for  tetanus 
had  been  communicated  to  the  Society,  and  as  the 
successful  remedy  is  given,  we  of  the  modem 
time  are  able  to  conclude  that  in  the  course  of 
subsequent  experience  the  members  of  the  medi- 
cal society  found  the  new  prescription  no  more 
effective  in  cases  of  acute  tetanus,  at  least,  than 
any  other  of  the  many  recommendations  that 
have  been  made  before  for  this  disease,  from 
time  immemorial  down  to  our  own  day. 

"  Apl.  9,  1799.  Dr.  Hosack  communicated  two  cases 
of  Tetanus  cured  by  the  free  use  of  wine,  under  some 
observations  of  the  causes  and  cure  of  Tetanus  by  Drs. 
Bayley,  Rodgers,  Hammersley  and  Hosack." 

Just  at  the  end  of  the  century  the  Society  put 
itself  on  record  with  regard  to  the  recommenda- 
tion of  young  medical  men  to  act  as  assistant 
surgeons  in  the  army  and  navy.    There  was  evi- 

46 


dently  a  high  spirit  of  professional  dignity  in  the 
matter,  and  it  was  considered  that  no  one  would 
be  recommended  for  this  purpose  unless  his 
qualifications  were  such  as  to  deserve  such 
recommendation,  and  unless  the  Society  had 
good  reason  to  know  definitely  the  existence  of 
such  qualifications.  The  minute  in  this  matter  is 
interesting,  because  it  states  the  attitude  of  the 
Society  so  clearly. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  14th  of  January,  1800. 

The  members  of  this  Society  having  been  frequently 
applied  to  for  the  purpose  of  recommending  young  men 
as  proper  persons  to  assist  as  surgeons  in  the  Navy  and 
Army  of  the  United  States ;  it  was  Resolved,  that 
the  members  of  this  Society  will  not  recommend  any 
person  as  qualified  to  act  in  the  aforesaid  capacity, 
unless  he  shall  have  received  a  medical  diploma  from 
some  college  or  university,  or  produce  a  certificate  of 
his  having  been  regularly  examined  by  three  of  the 
members  of  this  Society. 

"  And  further,  Resolved,  that  the  members  of  this 
Society  will  not  recommend  any  person  as  a  practitioner 
of  Physic  unless  he  shall  possess  the  testimonials  ex- 
pressed in  the  preceding  resolution." 

The  midsummer  meeting  of  1800  is  noteworthy 
as  containing  the  first  proposal  for  honorary 
membership.  The  man  proposed,  Dr.  Letsom, 
was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  living  Eng- 
lish medical  men  at  the  time,  and  there  seems  no 
doubt  that  the  Society  considered  it  was  honor- 
ing itself  rather  than  him  in  proposing  him  for 
membership.  The  same  minute  contains  a  note 
with  regard  to  the  library,  which  shows  the 
interest  taken  in  this  subject. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  held  in  the  City  Hall,  New  York,  8th  day 
of  July,  1800,  at  8  o'clock  P.  M. 

The  censors  reported  that  they  had  appointed  Dr. 
N.  Romaine  to  purchase  books  in  London  to  the  amount 
of  Fifty  dollars  for  the  Medical  Society. 

Dr.  Hosack  proposed  Dr.  Letsom,  of  London,  as  an 
honorary  member  of  this  Society." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  new  century  the  So- 
47 


ciety  determined  to  procure  a  new  meeting  place. 
The  report  of  the  committee  appointed  for  this 
purpose  is  quaintly  interesting  in  these  modern 
times,  because  of  the  details  it  contains.  A  room, 
with  fire  and  candle  light  in  a  hotel  on  Broad 
Way  for  two  dollars  each  meeting  represents  a 
state  of  affairs  that  is  eminently  desirable,  per- 
haps, from  the  standpoint  of  the  financial  com- 
mittee, but  quite  impossible  except  under  the 
primitive  circumstances  of  the  time.  At  the 
same  meeting  the  question  of  the  engrossing  of 
the  certificate  of  honorary  membership  upon 
vellum,  and  handsomely,  was  discussed ;  and  it 
was  decided  that  the  Society  should  have  the 
right  of  inspecting  it  before  it  was  sent  to  the 
new  honorary  member. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  held  at  South  Hotel,  in  Broad  Way,  14th 
day  of  April,  t8oi. 

The  committee  appointed  to  procure  a  room  for  the 
accommodation  of  this  Society  reported  that  Mr.  Lovet 
would  furnish  a  room  at  his  hotel  in  Broad  Way,  to- 
gether with  fire  and  candle  light,  for  the  sum  of  Two 
dollars  each  meeting. 

Resolved,  that  this  Society  accept  Mr.  Lovet's  pro- 
posal, and  that  the  future  meetings  be  held  at  his  house. 

The  committee  appointed  to  revise  the  By  Laws 
reported  progress  and  requested  leave  to  set  again. 

The  Secretary  was  requested  to  have  the  certificate 
for  Dr.  Letsom  handsomely  written  upon  Vellum  and 
present  it  at  the  next  quarterly  meeting  for  inspection." 

Just  about  the  beginning  of  the  century,  the 
members  of  the  Society  established  a  code  of 
charges  for  professional  services.  Knowing 
something  about  the  purchasing  power  of  money 
at  the  time,  one  might  expect  that  these  charges 
would  be  ridiculously  low,  according  to  our  mod- 
ern standard.  This  proves,  however,  to  be  by  no 
means  the  case.  The  physicians  of  the  time  had 
very  properly  a  high  appreciation  of  the  value  of 
their  professional  services.  A  hall  for  a  meeting 
in  a  Broad  Way  hotel,  with  fire  and  candles, 
might  cost  only  two  dollars   a  month,   but  the 

48 


prices  asked  for  visits  were  nearly  as  high  as  the 
average  of  the  modern  time.  It  is  to  be  presumed 
that  these  were  considered  the  highest  charges 
that  would  ordinarily  be  made,  and  that  while 
many  physicians  might  accept  less,  no  one  would 
be  expected  to  ask  more.  It  is  interesting  to  find 
that  the  list  begins  with  the  two  items  "Verbal 
Advice,"  and  "A  Letter  of  Advice,"  for  which 
respectively,  five  dollars  and  ten  dollars  are 
charged,  showing  that  the  physicians  of  that 
period  did  not  consider  that  the  principal  item  of 
value  in  their  services  was  the  writing  of  a  pre- 
scription, but  rather  the  giving  of  advice. 

In  those  days,  of  course,  most  of  the  physicians 
carried  their  own  drugs  with  them,  and  it  might 
be  expected  that  most  of  the  drugs  were  thrown 
in  for  the  charge  for  the  visit.  This  was  far 
from  being  the  case,  however.  In  fact,  a  reading 
of  the  list  of  charges  for  drugs  will  serve  to  show 
that  they  were  quite  as  high  as  are  the  modern 
druggists'  charges,  if  indeed  not  much  higher. 
Twelve  cents  for  each  powder  given,  and  twelve 
cents  for  each  pill  or  dose  of  pills,  one  might  say 
was  quite  as  much  as  the  tariff  would  stand.  A 
single  dose  of  medicine  dispensed  without  a  visit 
at  sixty-two  cents,  is  considerably  dearer  than  the 
opportunity  to  renew  a  prescription  at  the  drug 
store  afforded  by  modern  custom. 

Consultations  were  not  appreciated  at  as  high 
a  value  in  the  olden  times.  The  first  visit  in  con- 
sultation, five  dollars,  and  subsequent  visits,  two 
dollars,  cannot  but  seem  very  small.  It  is  rather 
interesting  to  find  that  mileage  was  charged  at 
a  dollar  a  mile,  a  price  which  obtains  at  the  pres- 
ent moment,  we  believe,  in  many  towns  much 
larger  than  New  York  at  that  time.  A 
visit  to  Brooklyn  was  only  three  dollars.  One  to 
Staten  Island  was  ten  dollars,  and  this  charge 
was  doubled  in  the  winter  time.  The  scale  of 
charges  for  infectious  fevers,  where  personal 
danger  was  in.curred,  were  higher  than  ordinary 
visits,  and  remind  us  that  these  were  the  days 

4  49 


when  smallpox  and  typhus  fever  raged  virulently, 
and  when  yellow  fever,  then  considered  to  be  an 
extremely  contagious  disease,  often  ravaged 
New  York.  The  charges  for  the  venereal  dis- 
eases are  made  in  lump  sums  for  the  whole  course 
of  treatment,  a  practice  which  early  New  York 
physicians  doubtless  found  advisable  from  the 
capriciousness  of  such  patients. 

With  regard  to  the  operations,  the  list  given 
shows  that  there  was  much  more  operating  in 
New  York  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century  than  might  be  expected.  It  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  charges  were  not  set  down  in  the  Hst 
for  operations  that  were  not  likely  to  be  per- 
formed, or  had  not  actually  been  performed. 
Bronchotomy  (tracheotomy)  is  found  in  the  list 
of  operations.  The  charges  in  midwifery  cases 
can  scarcely  but  be  considered  high,  considering 
that  money  at  that  time  was  worth  at  least  three 
times  as  much  as  now,  and  had,  indeed,  for  ordi- 
nary living  expenses,  at  least  five  times  the  pur- 
chasing power  of  our  present  currency. 

The  following  is  the  rate  bill  for  professional 
charges  agreed  upon : 

We,  the  subscribers,  practitioners  of  physic  and 
surgery  in  the  State  of  New  York,  do  agree  upon  the 
following  rate  of  charges  for  our  professional  services 
from  and  after  the  first  day  of  July,  1798,  agreeably  to 
which  rates  we  do  recommend  our  bills  to  be  presented 
every  six  months  or  oftener,  if  circumstances  permit. 

Verbal  advice    $5 .00 

A  letter  of  advice  10.00 

An  ordinary  visit  1 .00 

A  visit  with  a  single  dose  of  medicine i  .25 

Medicine  to  be  Priced  as  follows  : 

For  powders,  each    12 

Pills,  each  dose   12 

Boluses,   each    25 

Electuary,  per  ounce   50 

Mixtures,  per  ounce  12 

Decoctions,  $1.50 — 2.00  lb.,  or  per  ounce 12 

Infusions,  $1.50 — 2.00  lb.,  or  per  ounce 12 

Lotions,  per  pound  i .  25 

50 


Tinctures,  per  ounce  $0.25 

Vol.  Spt.,  per  ounce  SO 

Ointment  and  cerate,  per  ounce........ 25 

Blistering  plasters,  according  to  their  size,  from 

$1.25  to    2.00 

Other  plasters,  from  50  cents  to ._ 2.50 

For  a  single  dose  of  medicine  dispensed  without 

a  visit    62 

Consultations. 

The  first  visit  in  consultation S-OO 

Each  subsequent  visit  in  consultation 2.00 

A  night  visit   S-OO 

Visit  at  a  distance  from  town,  per  mile i  .00 

A  Visit  to  Brooklyn   3. 00 

A  visit  to  Pawles  Hook S.oo 

A  visit  to  Staten  Island  10.00 

The  last  two  charges  to  be  doubled  in  winter  or  in 
tempestuous  weather. 
The  first  visit  in  epidemic  fevers,  or  in  other  cases 

where  personal  danger  is  incurred  5.00 

Each  subsequent  visit  under  these  conditions 2.00 

Charges. 
For  curing  a  simple  or  virulent  Gonorrhea,  from 

$10.00  to   20.00 

For  curing  confirmed  Syphilis,  from  $25.00  to.  . .  .100.00 

For  dressing  a  blister,  from  50  cents  to i  .00 

For  dressing  wounds,  from  $1.00  to 2.00 

For  applying  cupping  glasses  4.00 

For  bleeding  in  the  arm  i  .00 

For  bleeding  in  the  foot  2.00 

For  bleeding  jugular  vein  2.00 

For  opening  an  artery   5-00 

For  attending  in  smallpox,  from  $5.00  to 10.00 

Scarrifycations  of  the  eye S.oo 

Punctures  in  the  Oedematous  Swellings  2.00 

Inserting  a  Spue    2.00 

Inserting  a  Seton    S -oo 

Introducing  a  Catheter  first  time  5.00 

Introducing  a  Catheter  each  subsequent  time 2.00 

Extracting  a  Calculus  from  the  Urethra 10.00 

Reducing  a  simple  fracture,  from  $10.00  to 20  00 

Reducing  a  compound  fracture  30.00 

Setting  dislocations,  from  $5.00  to  20.00 

For  reducing  a  Polypus  ani  5.00 

For  reducing  Hernia    2S  .00 

Opening  an  abscess,  from  $1.00  to 5.00 

Amputating  the  breast  50.00 

Amputating  the  arm  or  leg SO. 00 

Amputating  the  joint   100.00 

Amputating  the  finger   10.00 

51 


Amputating  the  penis   $20.00 

Extirpating  the  eye   100.00 

Extirpating  the  tonsil    25 .00 

Extirpating  the  testicle    50.00 

Extirpating  a  polypus    25.00 

Perforating  the  rectum,  nostril  or  urethra 10.00 

Paracentesis  of  the  abdomen  10.00 

Paracentesis  of  the  thorax  50.00 

Operation  for  an  aneurism  100.00 

Operation   for   harelip    25.00 

Operation  for  hydrocele   25.00 

Operation  for  hernia    125 .00 

Operation  for  fistula  in  ano  50.00 

Operation  for  fistula  in  erindo 25.00 

Operation   for   Phymosis    10.00 

Operation  for  Paraphymosis    10.00 

Fistula   Lachrymalis    25.00 

Wry  Neck    25.00 

Cataract    125.00 

For  operation  of  Lithotomy  125.00 

For  operation  of  Bronchotomy  25.00 

For  operation  of  Trepanning 100.00 

Midwifery. 

For  a  common  case,  from  $15.00  to  25.00 

For  tedious  or  difficult  cases,  from  $25.00  to 40.00 

The  Medical  Society  did  not  continue  without 
a  rival  in  New  York  City.  It  is  interesting  to 
find,  however,  that  not  only  was  their  rivalry  not 
bitter,  but  that  there  seems  to  have  been  rather 
kindly  relations  between  the  two  societies.  It  is 
rather  hard  to  understand  just  why  the  other 
Society  was  founded,  though  it  is  possible  from 
its  name,  the  Physical  Society,  that  its  member- 
ship was  limited  to  those  who  practiced  physic 
only,  in  contradistinction  to  those  who  practiced 
also  surgery.  The  minute  of  the  Society  with 
regard  to  this  new  medical  organization  shows 
kindly  courtesy,  and  at  the  same  meeting  the 
president  of  the  Physical  Society,  Dr.  James  S. 
Stringham,  was  made  a  candidate  for  member- 
ship in  the  Medical  Society.  Dr.  Stringham  was 
not  only  admitted  as  a  member,  but  he  became 
the  secretary  of  the  society  a  year  or  two  later. 

In  1803  interest  in  the  question  of  a  law  for 

52 


the  regulation  of  the  practice  of  medicine  became 
once  more  acute,  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  report  on  the  matter. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  held  at  Lovet's  Hotel,  I2th  day  of  July, 
1803. 

Resolved,  that  a  committee  of  five  members  be  ap- 
pointed to  take  into  consideration  the  propriety  for 
applying  to  the  Legislature  of  this  State  for  a  law, 
regulating  the  practice  of  Physic  and  Surgery,  or  a  law 
of  incorporation,  and  report  at  the  next  meeting. 

Resolved,  that  Drs.  Anthon,  Rodgers,  Hammersley 
and  Gamage  be  the  Committee." 

Nothing  seems  to  have  come  of  this  attempt  at 
securing  legislation,  and  the  minutes  of  subse- 
quent meetings  of  the  Medical  Society  have  very 
little  of  interest  for  several  years.  Indeed,  the 
minutes  are  so  briefly  v^ritten  as  compared  to 
some  of  those  at  the  beginning  of  the  Society's 
career,  that  there  is  more  than  suspicion  that  the 
secretary  was  neglecting  something  of  his  duty, 
to  the  detriment  of  those,  at  least,  of  posterity 
who  are  interested  in  medical  historical  matters, 
now  that  a  century  has  passed.  In  1806,  how- 
ever, a  special  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of 
the  State  of  New  York  was  called  for  the  purpose 
of  considering  the  law  that  had  been  passed  in 
April,  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State.  Another 
special  meeting  was  called  two  weeks  later  to 
take  action  with  regard  to  it,  and  the  Society 
practically  accepted  its  legal  obliteration  and 
determined,  though  with  many  misgivings  evi- 
dently, to  abide  by  the  law  that  had  been  passed. 
At  a  subsequent  regular  meeting  the  name  of 
the  Society  was  changed  and  it  evidently  passed 
over  into  the  New  York  County  Medical  Society, 
as  it  exists  at  the  present  time. 

"  At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  held  by  order  of  the  President, 
June  ID,  1806. 

53 


Present:  The  President  and  Drs.  Tillary,  Hammers- 
ley,  Faugeres,  Onderdonk,  Gamage,  Borrowe,  Proudfit, 
Servant,  Barrow  and  Stringham. 

Dr.  William  Turk,  having  been  duly  admitted  a 
member,  signed  his  name  to  the  Constitution. 

The  Society,  after  having  considered  the  late  law 
passed  by  the  Legislature,  respecting  the  regulation  of 
the  practice  of  Physic,  adjourned  for  a  further  consid- 
eration of  the  same  until  Saturday,  June  28th." 

"Agreeably  to  adjournment,  the  Society  met  on  Sat- 
urday evening,  June  28th,  1806. 

Present:  The  President,  Vice-President  and  Drs. 
Hammersley,  Bainbridge,  Faugeres,  Onderdonk,  Post, 
Gamage,  Proudfit,  Servant,  Turk,  Buchanan  and  String- 
ham. 

The  law  passed  by  the  Legislature,  April  4th,  1806, 
entitled.  An  Act  to  Incorporate  the  Medical  Society  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  for  the  regulation  of  the 
practice  of  Physic  and  Surgery  in  this  State,  being  duly 
considered,  it  was  determined  by  a  majority  of  the 
Society,  that  although  many  parts  of  the  above  Act  were 
highly  objectionable,  still  that,  under  all  circumstances, 
the  profession  might  be  benefited  by  a  meeting  of  the 
members  of  this  Society  with  the  other  physicians  of 
this  City  at  the  time  and  place  appointed  by  law." 

"  On  Tuesday,  July  8th,  1806,  an  ordinary  meeting  of 
the  Society  was  held. 

Present :  President  and  Vice-President,  Drs.  Fau- 
geres, Onderdonk,  Gamage,  Hammersley,  Proudfit,  Ser- 
vant, Borrowe,  Buchanan,  Turk  and  Stringham. 

The  report  of  the  committee  appointed  to  draw  up 
a  code  of  by-laws,  and  which  had  lain  over  since  the 
last  ordinary  meeting,  was  now  revived  and  adopted 
with  amendments.  The  Society  considered  that,  under 
existing  circumstances,  it  was  necessary  that  the  name 
of  this  Institution  be  changed.  Drs.  Gamage  and 
Stringham  were  appointed  a  committee  for  this  pur- 
pose, to  report  at  the  next  regular  meeting.  Notice  was 
given  by  Dr.  Hammersley  that  he  should  propose  at 
the  next  meeting  an  alteration  of  that  article  of  the 
Constitution  relative  to  the  sum  to  be  paid  as  the 
initiating  fee.  Drs.  Manley  and  Neilson  were  proposed 
as  members.  A  communication  by  Dr.  Servant  was 
read  and  ordered  to  be  filed  among  the  papers  of  this 
Society." 


54 


HISTORICAL    EVENTS. 

CHAPTER   I. 

STORY   OF   THE  FOUNDATION. 

The  fact  that  there  had  existed  in  New 
York  City  a  society,  under  the  title  of  The 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
has  led  in  many  cases  to  confusion  as  re- 
gards the  preliminary  history  of  the  medical  or- 
ganization that  brought  about  the  enactment  of 
the  law  of  1806  and  the  establishment  of  the 
present  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
The  additional  fact  that  some  of  the  members 
who  had  been  leaders  in  the  earlier  society  in 
New  York  City  became  also  very  prominent  in 
the  legally  established  medical  society,  has  been 
an  added  reason  for  this  confusion.  Wickes,  in 
his  "History  of  Medical  Men  in  New  Jersey 
down  to  the  year  1800,"  in  the  chapter  in  which 
he  discusses  the  foundation  of  medical  societies, 
seems  at  least  to  hint  at  the  legal  recognition 
of  this  earlier,  so-called,  medical  society  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  as  the  explanation  of  the 
origin  of  the  present  State  society. 

Dr.  Packard,  who  is  always  very  careful  and 
usually  very  clear  in  these  matters  of  earlier 
history,  in  his  chapter  on  the  "History  of  the 
Medical  Societies,  founded  before  the  year  1800," 
does  not  seem  to  have  had  a  very  definite  notion 
as  to  the  actual  relationship  of  these  various 
societies,  in  New  York.*  He  mentions  the  "well 
regulated  association  of  gentlemen  for  the 
advancement  of  the  profession,"  alluded  to  by 
Dr.  Middleton,  in  his  introductory  lecture  at  the 
opening  of  the  Medical  School  in  King's  College 
in  November,  1769,  and  its  apparent  successor, 
organized  at  the  City  Hall  in  New  York,  Novem- 

•History   of    Medicine   in   the   United    States,    Packard,    Phila- 
delphia, J.  B.  Lippincott,   1901. 

55 


ber  14,  1794,  which  assumed  the  name  and  style 
of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  then  comments :  "Hence  it  would  appear 
that  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New 
York  is  the  immediate  and  legitimate  descendant 
of  the  medical  society  mentioned  by  Dr.  Middle- 
ton  in  his  address;  though  he  adds,  "in  1806  this 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York 
became  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of 
New  York." 

The  impression  that  a  direct  relationship  be- 
tween these  various  societies  could  be  traced  ex- 
isted at  a  very  early  period  in  the  State  society's 
history ;  indeed,  before  the  society  was  25  years 
old,  there  had  crept  into  print  a  number  of  errors, 
with  regard  to  the  preliminary  steps  that  led  to 
the  lesiglation  of  1806.  In  order  that  there  might 
be  a  correction  of  these  misunderstandings,  the 
editors  of  the  New  York  Medical  and  Physical 
Journal  in  1828  asked  Dr.  John  Stearns  to  write 
the  history  of  the  preliminary  steps  that  led  to 
the  legal  establishment  of  the  New  York  State 
Medical  Society,  which  he  did.  This  appeared 
in  a  series  of  numbers  in  the  Journal  and  because 
of  its  absolutely  authoritative  value,  deserves  a 
place  /;/  cxtenso  here.* 

The  editor  of  the  United  States  Medical  and 
Surgical  Journal  introduced  Dr.  Stearns'  articles 
as  follows : 

From  the  frequent  inquiries  made  by  the  medical 
profession  respecting  the  origin,  organization,  transac- 
tions, etc.,  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New 

*This  account  is  usually  attributed  to  the  United  States  Medi- 
cal and  Surgical  Journal,  and,  indeed,  the  editorial  note  at  the 
beginning  of  it  can  scarcely  fail  to  give  the  impression  that  it 
was  an  original  article  prepared  for  that  Journal.  At  the  end  of 
the  accovint,  however,  there  occurs,  in  small  italics,  the  abbrevia- 
tion, Neiv  York  Medical  and  Physical  Journal,  1828.  It  is  in 
tills  journal  that  Dr.  Stearns'  article  was  originally  published, 
and  it  seems  to  have  been  especially  prepared  for  it.  This 
journal  was  one  of  the  best,  most  widely  circulated  and  de- 
servedly popular  medical  journals  of  the  time.  It  was  condusted 
according  to  its  title  page,  by  Drs.  John  B.  Beck,  J.  Augustus 
Smith,  Theodric  Romeyn  Beck,  D.  L.  M.  Peixotto,  and  Alex.  H. 
Stevens.  All  of  these  men  were  members  of  the  faculty  of  the 
University  of  the  State  of  New  York,  except  Dr.  Peixotto,  who 
has  the  designation  of  Physician  to  the  New  York  City  Dis- 
pensary. 

56 


York,  we  have  been  induced  at  the  strong  solicitation  of 
many  of  our  friends,  to  give  a  condensed  history  of  that 
institution,  with  a  synopsis  of  its  transactions  since  its 
origin  in  1806,  to  the  present  time.  We  have  been 
greatly  surprised  to  find  that  the  profession  in  our  own 
State  should  be  so  little  informed  in  relation  to  the 
proceedings  of  this  institution,  and  we  can  only  attribute 
it  to  the  limited  circulation  of  its  "Transactions" ;  pre- 
suming such  to  be  the  fact,  we  would  respectfully  sug- 
gest to  the  members  of  the  Society  the  propriety  of 
adopting  some  more  effective  mode  of  circulation.  Per- 
haps the  plan  now  pursued  by  the  Edinburgh  Medico- 
Chirurgical  Society,  and  noticed  particularly  in  our 
fourth  number,  page  126,  might  be  deemed  the  best. 

The  synopsis  we  are  about  to  give  of  our  State  Medi- 
cal Society  will  doubtless  be  regarded  as  an  interesting 
historical  record  of  the  various  officers,  members  and 
the  principal  transactions  of  that  institution.  In  the 
latter  will  be  found  many  valuable  practical  facts  from 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  who  from  time  to 
time  have  adorned  our  profession  and  our  State,  and 
many  of  whom,  now  mingled  with  the  dead,  are  cher- 
ished in  remembrance  for  the  high  moral,  intellectual 
and  social  virtues  which  distinguished  them  when  living. 
—Ed. 

Article  I. — An  Account  of  the  Origin  of  the  Law, 
"to  Incorporate  Medical  Societies  for  the  purpose  of 
Regulating  the  Practice  of  Physic  and  Surgery  in  this 
State" ;  passed  4th  of  April,  1806.  By  John  Stearns, 
M.D.,  of  New  York. 

The  influence  which  medical  societies  have  had  upon 
the  profession,  and  the  general  misapprehension  of  their 
origin,  impart  an  interest  to  this  topic  which  I  trust  will 
not  be  deemed  inappropriate.  This  interest  is  enhanced 
by  the  consideration  that  the  time  will  soon  elapse  when 
those  who  were  concerned  in  originating  this  law  will 
have  passed  the  confines  of  time,  without  having  left  a 
single  record  of  the  fact,  by  which  the  numerous  errors 
which  have  obtained  publicity  in  our  scientific  journals 
might  be  corrected,  and  justice  rendered  to  whom  it  is 
due. 

From  these  publications  I  shall  select  the  following 
paragraph  from  a  biographical  notice  of  Dr.  Bruce,  in 
the  first  volume  of  Silliman's  Journal  of  Science :  "Pre- 
vious to  the  year  1805  the  practice  of  physic  in  the 
State  of  New  York  was  regulated  by  no  public  author- 
ity, and  of  course,  was  not  in  the  happiest  condition  to 
promote  the  usefulness  and  respectability  of  the  profes- 
sion. To  remove  as  far  as  possible  the  existing  circum- 
stances Dr.  Bruce  became  an  active  agent,  and  in  con- 
junction with  Dr.  Romayne  and  other  medical  gentle- 
men of  New  York,  succeeded  in  establishing  the  State 

57 


and  County  medical  societies,  under  the  sanction  of  the 
Legislature.  This  act  may  be  considered  among  the 
first  efforts  made  in  this  country  to  reduce  medicine  to 
a  regular  science,  by  investing  the  privileges  of  medical 
men  in  the  body  of  the  members  of  the  profession."  The 
President  of  the  New  York  County  Medical  Society  in 
his  inaugural  address  for  1824  also  states,  "that  this  is  the 
parent  society,  from  which  the  other  institutions  of  a 
similar  character  throughout  the  State  have  emanated." 

Without  multiplying  similar  quotations  to  evince  the 
error  of  public  opinion,  I  take  this  occasion  explicitly 
to  state  that  neither  Dr.  Bruce  nor  Dr.  Romayne,  nor 
this  medical  society  nor  any  physician,  then  resident  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  had  any  knowledge  of  the  pre- 
liminary measures  which  led  to  the  formation  of  this 
law,  or  the  most  remote  agency  in  procuring  its  pas- 
sage through  the  Legislature.  These  measures  were 
cornmenced  exclusively  in  the  County  of  Saratoga,  with 
a  view  to  reclaim  the  profession  from  that  degradation 
and  contempt  to  which  it  had  been  reduced  by  ignor- 
ance, professional  broils,  and  the  grossest  empiricism. 

Those  who  witnessed  the  original  and  progressive 
settlement  of  the  northern  and  western  sections  of  this 
State  since  the  j^ear  1790,  will  recognize  the  mania  that 
infatuated  the  emigrants  from  the  East  and  the  ambi- 
tious projects  formed  by  those  who  assumed  the  title  of 
doctor.  Many  who  had  never  read  a  volume  in  medi- 
cine were  suddenly  introduced  to  an  extensive  practice 
and  to  a  reputation  of  such  imposing  authority,  as  to 
control  the  opinions  of  their  superiors  in  science  and  to 
prescribe  rules  of  practice  for  their  government.  Con- 
sultations were  generally  distinguished  for  gross  contro- 
versies at  the  bedside  of  the  patient,  whose  health  and 
life  were  often  immolated  to  the  ignorance,  prejudices 
or  discordant  theories  of  the  contending  physicians. 
Their  skill  was  generally  graduated  by  their  ability  to 
magnify  the  cures  they  had  made.  Gratifying,  indeed, 
would  it  be,  at  this  enlightened  period,  to  be  able  to  bear 
testimony  to  the  total  extinction  of  this  relic  of  quack- 
ery, and  to  the  abolition  of  that  still  more  ridiculous  and 
growing  imposture,  that  indignity  of  our  profession, 
which  by  the  sign  of  a  common  vendor  converts  the 
medical  office,  designed  for  the  cure  of  all  diseases,  into 
a  private  infirmary  for  curing  only  those  which  belong 
to  a  particular  organ.  But  so  great  has  been  the  change 
in  public  opinion,  that  empirics  now  seldom  boast  of 
their  intuitive  knowledge,  their  magic  incantations,  or 
their  initiation  into  the  mysteries  of  Indian  practice ; 
but  are  compelled  to  assume  the  appearance  of  learning, 
and  to  affix  to  their  names  the  fictitious  appendage  of 
M.D. — a  proof  that  scientific  physicians  will  always  be 
patronized    as    the   public    mind    becomes    enlightened. 

S8 


The  ignorance  of  the  practitioners  so  obscured  the 
science  of  medicine  at  the  period  referred  to,  that 
reflecting  physicians  united  in  the  necessity  of  adopting 
vigorous  measures  for  a  radical  reform. 

In  1796  a  series  of  numbers  were  accordingly  pub- 
lished in  the  newspapers  of  Saratoga,  which  directed 
the  attention  of  the  profession  to  the  subject  of  insti- 
tuting medical  societies  and  ultimately  led  to  the  forma- 
tion of  a  society  in  that  county,  consisting  of  twenty- 
one  physicians.  But  so  discordant  were  its  materials, 
and  so  incompetent  to  sustain  the  character  of  a 
scientific  institution,  that  the  year  of  its  formation  be- 
came the  period  of  its  dissolution.  This  want  of  success 
did  not  prevent  the  renewal  of  future  efforts. 

In  November,  1805,  another  meeting  was  held,  at 
which  committees  were  appointed  and  a  resolution 
passed  to  invite  the  co-operation  of  the  physicians  of 
the  adjoining  counties  of  Washington  and  Montgomery. 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  printed  circular  issued 
on  that  occasion  and  evidently  sent  to  all  the  reputable 
members  of  the  medical  profession  in  the  three  counties 
mentioned : 

"Ballston,  November  7,  1805. 

"Sir, — At  a  meeting  of  the  physicians  of  the  County 
of  Saratoga,  convened  this  day  at  the  Court  House  in 
Ballston,  for  the  purpose  of  devising  means  to  improve 
the  practice  of  medicine,-  we  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  impart  the  object  and  wishes  of  that  meeting 
to  our  professional  brethren  in  the  counties  of  Wash- 
ington and  Montgomery.  In  that  capacity  we  beg  leave 
to  recommend  to  your  earnest  attention  the  necessity 
of  adopting  some  vigorous  measures  for  the  suppres- 
sion of  empiricism,  and  the  encouragement  of  regular 
practitioners.  The  evil  calls  loudly  for  the  united 
efforts  of  all  who  sincerely  wish  to  remove  from  that 
valuable  science  the  imputation  of  quackery;  under 
which  from  the  ignorance  of  some  of  its  professors,  it 
not  unjustly  labors.  The  wish  of  the  meeting  is  to 
procure  from  the  Legislature  of  the  State  their  sanction 
to  a  medical  society;  and  we  request  your  attendance 
a  the  court-house  in  Ballston  on  the  i6th  of  January, 
1806,  at  ten  o'clock,  A.M.,  either  in  person  or  by  a 
committee  of  your  county,  for  the  purpose  of  adopting 
the  best  means  for  obtaining  an  act  of  incorporation. 
We  remain,  &c., 

"Wm.   Patrick, 
"John  Stearns, 
"Grant  Powell, 
"Committee  of  Correspondence." 

Pursuant  to  the  notice  in  this  circular,  a  delegation 
from  these  counties  attended  the  adjourned  meeting  at 

59 


the  same  place  on  the  i6th  of  January,  1806.  A  me- 
morial to  the  Legislature  was  then  reported,  adopted, 
and  signed,  and  a  committee  of  three,  consisting  of 
Dr.  Asa  Fitch,  of  Washington ;  Dr.  John  Steams,  of 
Saratoga;  and  Dr.  Alexander  Sheldon,  of  Montgomery, 
were  appointed  to  carry  the  same  into  effect. 

The  committee  from  Saratoga  and  Montgomery 
attended  the  ensuing  session  of  the  Legislature,  and 
fortunately  for  the  cause  of  science,  the  latter  gentle- 
man, Dr.  Alexander  Sheldon,  was  elected  speaker  of 
the  House.  Although  the  meeting  at  Saratoga  did  not 
contemplate  the  extension  of  the  law  beyond  the  limits 
of  these  three  counties,  the  committee  assumed  the 
responsibility  of  making  it  general,  and  of  extending  its 
privileges  to  every  county  in  the  State. 

Accompanied  with  this  explanatory  view  of  the  sub- 
ject, they  presented  the  memorial  to  the  house  of  As- 
sembly on  the  25th  of  February,  1806,  who  referred  it 
to  a  committee,  consisting  of  William  Livingston  and 
Isaac  Sargeant  of  Washington,  Gurdon  Huntington  of 
Otsego,  John  Ely  of  Greene,  and  Joel  Frost  of  West- 
chester. The  majority  of  this  committee  being  medical 
men.  favorably  received  the  proposed  plan  for  a  gen- 
eral law  to  extend  the  act  of  incorporation  through  the 
State,  which  they  finally  matured  and  reported  to  the 
House.  The  powerful  opposition  to  the  bill  threatened 
its  early  and  prompt  rejection  by  a  large  majority. 
The  speaker,  the  committee  and  several  other  members 
gave  it  a  very  able  and  vigorous  support.  But  notwith- 
standing all  the  exertions  and  political  influence  of  its 
friends,  the  danger  to  which  the  tranquility  of  the  State 
would  be  exposed  by  the  incorporation  of  forty  distinct 
associations  of  physicians,  was  so  magnified  by  the 
opposition,  and  the  impression  thereby  made  upon  the 
House  was  so  great,  that  but  feeble  hopes  were  enter- 
tained of  its  success. 

At  this  critical  juncture,  when  a  decisive  vote  against 
the  bill  was  every  moment  expected  to  be  taken,  the 
late  Honorable  William  W.  Van  Ness  rose  its  most 
eloquent  and  powerful  advocate.  And  perhaps  the  pre- 
eminent powers  of  his  parliamentary  eloquence  were 
never  exerted  with  better  effect.  He  refuted  the  argu- 
ments of  the  opposition,  portraj^ed  the  benefits  to  the 
profession  and  to  the  public  in  such  glowing  colors,  and 
with  so  much  energy  and  zeal,  that  the  opposition  be- 
came feeble,  the  friends  to  the  bill  increased,  and  from 
that  moment  the  successful  issue  was  rendered  certain. 
To  his  memory  the  profession  owes  a  monument  of 
marble,  with  their  gratitude  deeply  engraven  upon  its 
tablet. 

On  the  first  Tuesday  of  July,  1806,  three  months  after 
the   passage   of   the   law,    about  twenty   societies   were 

60 


organized  pursuant  to  its  provisions,  and  within  two 
years  scarcely  a  county  in  the  State  of  any  considerable 
population  was  without  a  duly  organized  medical 
society. — N.  Y.  Med.  &  Phys.  Jour.,  1828. 

CHAPTER   11. 
FURTHER  LEGAL  REGULATION. 

As  might  very  well  have  been  expected  the  law 
of  1806  did  not  prove  sufficient  for  the  legal 
regulation  of  the  practice  of  medicine.  The 
attempt  had  been  very  bravely  made  to  settle  a 
difficult  problem  but  the  details  had  not  all  been 
thought  of  and  in  practice  the  act  proved  defec- 
tive. Accordingly  the  next  year  the  Legislature 
was  appealed  to  for  a  further  enactment,  and  this 
seems  to  have  been  obtained  without  much  diffi- 
culty. It  was  passed  a  year  later  almost  to  the 
day,  April  3,  1807.  There  were  a  number  of 
interesting  features  in  this  new  law.  It  created 
four  classes  of  members  from  each  district,  one 
class  of  which  was  to  go  out  of  office  annually 
so  as  to  secure  a  proper  succession  and  rotation 
in  the  representatives  from  the  County  Medical 
Societies  to  the  State  Society,  and  thus  prevent 
any  monopoly  of  medical  influence.  This  con- 
stituted the  most  important  part  of  the  law,  and 
introduced  a  feature  that  was  to  remain  promi- 
nent in  the  Society  for  many  years  of  its  history. 

While  the  previous  law  of  1806  had  deter- 
mined how  the  license  to  practice  medicine  should 
be  obtained,  it  had  not  made  any  provision  to 
punish  those  who  practiced  medicine  without  a 
license  except  that  they  were  debarred  from 
collecting  their  debts  by  process  of  law.  It  was 
realized  even  in  the  course  of  a  single  year  that 
this  penalty  would  not  be  sufficient  and  accord- 
ingly a  penal  clause  was  introduced  into  this  new 
law.  To  the  modern  mind  the  penalty  enacted 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  very  stringent.  A 
man  who  practiced  medicine  without  a  license 
was  to  be  fined  five  dollars  for  every  month  that 

61 


he  had  practiced,  one-half  of  which  was  to  go  to 
the  informer.  Even  with  the  triple  value  that 
money  bore  at  the  time,  this  will  scarcely  appear 
a  punishment  likely  to  prove  deterrent,  and  yet  it 
seems  to  have  been  reasonably  successful  in  the 
accomplishment  of  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
intended. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  act,  however,  there  are 
some  clauses  introduced,  the  full  significance  of 
which  seem  not  to  have  been  realized  perhaps  by 
the  members  of  the  State  Society  who  had  the 
legislation  in  hand.  At  least  one  of  these  pecu- 
liar provisions  bears  very  much  the  character  of 
what  would  be  called  in  modern  parlance  a 
"rider,"  introduced  into  the  bill  during  its  prog- 
ress through  the  Legislature  by  some  one  who 
did  not  wish  the  profession  of  medicine  well  and 
who  perhaps  held  a  brief  for  some  other  parties. 
It  may  seem  premature  in  the  history  of  legislation 
to  consider  that  such  a  device  was  successful. 
There  is  plenty  of  evidence,  however,  to  show 
that  the  legislators  of  the  olden  times,  even  a 
hundred  years  ago,  were  not  so  much  better  than 
those  of  the  present  day  as  not  to  know  how  to 
accomplish  a  latent  purpose  and  introduce  un- 
fortunate clauses  into  legislation  that  spoiled  the 
effectiveness  of  expected  reform  of  methods. 

One  of  the  obnoxious  passages  in  the  bill  was 
that  which  provided  that  the  penalty  to  be  incur- 
red should  not  be  considered  to  extend  to  any 
apothecary  nor  to  any  person  administering 
medicine  who  does  not  follow  the  practice  of 
medicine  as  a  profession.  This  left  it  free  to  the 
apothecary  to  prescribe  almost  at  liberty  so  that 
many  of  the  unlicensed  practitioners  found  it 
advisable  to  open  drug  stores  and  do  their  pre- 
scribing over  the  counter.  Some  of  the  traveling 
quacks  succeeded  in  evading  the  law  under  the 
pretext  that  they  did  not  practice  medicine  as  a 
profession  because  at  certain  intervals  they 
applied  themselves  to  some  other  occupation  for 
a  while  and  only  set  themselves  to  curing  people 

62 


of  their  ills  when  they  found  themselves  in  a  new 
neighborhood  where  the  people  did  not  know 
even  the  ordinary  popular  remedies. 

The  most  seriously  defective  paragraph  in  the 
act,  however,  and  one  which  Dr.  James  Mc- 
Naughton,  subsequently  a  President  of  the  State 
Society,  did  not  hesitate  to  say  practically  nulli- 
fied its  effectiveness  as  a  penal  measure,  was  the 
last  one,  according  to  which  nothing  in  the  act 
was  to  be  construed  to  debar  any  person  from 
using  or  applying  for  the  benefit  of  any  sick 
person  any  roots  or  herbs,  the  growth  or  produce 
of  the  United  States.  This  left  the  field  completely 
open  for  the  herbalists  and  indeed  gave  them  a 
certain  amount  of  State  encouragement  since 
this  paragraph  as  much  as  declared  that  herbal 
medicines  were  harmless  and  that  at  least  no  evil 
could  be  worked  by  their  administration.  Ac- 
cording to  Dr.  McNaughton  this  provision  was 
taken  advantage  of  very  generally  throughout 
the  State,  and  there  were  a  great  many  herb 
doctors  who  supposedly  prepared  their  own 
medicines  and  who  were  thought,  by  at  least 
the  ignorant  among  the  population,  to  possess 
many  secrets  that  the  ordinary  practitioner  of 
medicine  had  never  had  the  opportunity  of  learn- 
ing since  they  came  from  experience  with  plants 
and  not  from  books. 

The  historical  interest  of  this  second  law  is 
indeed  mainly  concentrated  in  these  considera- 
tions with  regard  to  its  nullifying  provisions. 
We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  legislative  sharp 
practices  as  mainly  a  thing  of  recent  times. 
With  regard  to  medical  laws  particularly  the  gen- 
eral impression  undoubtedly  is  that  the  Legis- 
lature would  be  either  willing  or  unwilling  to 
grant  certain  privileges  and  legal  restrictions  or 
else  frankly  to  refuse  them.  There  would  be 
little  thought  of  the  possibility  of  supposedly  fav- 
orable legislation  turning  out  to  have  such  pro- 
visions in  it  as  gave  added  opportunities  for  the 

63 


unlicensed  practitioner  of  medicine  to  ply  his 
avocation.  We  have  in  this  legislative  enact- 
ment, however,  a  very  definite  example  of  the 
opposite  state  of  affairs,  and  so  the  act  has  a 
social  as  well  as  medical  historical  interest. 

Because  of  this  it  has  seemed  worth  while  to 
quote  the  Act  of  1807  in  its  entirety  as  a  warning 
example,  to  legislative  committees  in  the  new 
century,  of  how  carefully  innocent  looking 
amendments,  supposedly  meant  to  prevent  in- 
fringements of  individual  liberty,  must  be  scruti- 
nized before  definitely  being  accepted  for  enact- 
ment. 


AN  ACT  TO  AMEND  AN  ACT,  ENTITLED,     AN   ACT  TO  REGULATE 

THE   PRACTICE   OF   PHYSIC   AND   SURGERY," 

PASSED  APRIL  3,    1807. 

I.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  represented  in  the  Senate  and  Assembly,  that 
the  members  now  composing  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  shall  at  their  next  annual  meeting, 
divide  the  members  of  said  Society  from  each  of  the 
four  great  districts  into  four  classes,  and  one  class  of 
each  of  said  districts  shall  go  out  of  office  annually; 
and  the  said  Society  shall  by  lot  determine  which  class 
shall  first  go  out  of  office,  and  so  for  each  and  every 
class;  and  the  class  whose  seats  shall  first  be  vacated 
in  each  of  the  said  districts,  shall  be  called  the  first 
class,  and  the  class  whose  seats  shall  next  become 
vacated,  shall  be  called  the  second  class,  and  the  seats 
of  those  which  shall  next  become  vacated  shall  be  called 
the  third  class,  and  the  seats  of  the  members  which 
shall  last  become  vacated  shall  be  denominated  the 
fourth  class ;  and  the  members  now  composing  the  said 
Society  shall  continue  and  remain  members  of  the  same 
until  their  seats  shall  become  vacated  in  the  manner 
above  described,  and  until  others  shall  be  chosen  in 
their  places. 

II.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  whenever  the 
seats  of  any  of  the  members  shall  become  vacant  by  the 
preceding  section  of  this  Act,  to  give  information  of  the 
same  to  the  respective  County  Society,  to  the  end  that 
such  County  Societies  may  supply  such  vacancy  at  their 
next  meeting. 

III.  And  be  it  enacted  that  in  case  there  shall  be 
an  addition  to  the  number  of  persons  composing  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  that  in  that 

64 


case  it  shall  be  in  the  power  of  the  said  Society  at  any 
of  their  annual  meetings,  and  as  often  as  they  shall 
judge  necessary,  to  alter  and  vary  the  classes  to  be 
established  at  their  next  annual  meeting  in  such  man- 
ner as  that  one-fourth  of  the  members  from  each  of  the 
great  districts  as  near  as  may  be,  shall  annually  go  out 
of  office. 

IV.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  if  the  seat  of  any 
member  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New 
York  shall  be  vacated  either  by  death,  resignation  or 
removal  from  the  county,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
Medical  Society  of  such  county  to  fill  such  vacancy  at 
their  next  annual  meeting  after  such  vacancy  shall 
happen. 

V.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  if  any  person  not 
authorized  to  practice  physic  or  surgery  at  the  time  of 
the  passing  of  the  Act  hereby  amended,  or  if  any  person 
since  the  passing  of  said  Act  shall  have  commenced  the 
practice  of  physic  or  surgery  without  being  legally 
authorized,  every  person  who  shall  so  continue  to  prac- 
tice unauthorized  shall  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  five 
dollars  for  every  month  such  unauthorized  practice  is 
continued,  to  be  recovered  with  costs  of  suit  before  any 
justice  of  the  peace  of  the  county  where  such  penalty 
shall  be  incurred,  by  any  person  who  shall  prosecute  for 
the  same,  the  one  moiety  of  which  when  recovered,  shall 
be  paid  to  the  person  prosecuting  for  same,  and  the 
other  moiety  to  the  overseers  of  the  poor  of  the  town 
where  the  person  incurring  the  penalty  shall  reside,  for 
the  use  of  the  poor  of  such  town ;  Provided,  that  the 
penalty  to  be  incurred  by  the  preceding  section  of  this 
Act  shall  not  be  considered  to  extend  to  any  apothecary 
or  to  any  person  administering  medicine  who  does  not 
follow  the  same  as  a  profession,  nor  shall  any  prose- 
cution be  commenced  by  virtue  of  such  section  unless 
it  shall  be  within  thirty  days  after  the  penalty  incurred. 
Nor  shall  the  second  prosecution  be  commenced  or 
recovery  be  had  in  less  than  thirty  days  from  the  date 
of  the  first  recovery;  and  Provided,  Further,  that 
nothing  in  this  Act  contained  shall  be  construed  to 
debar  any  person  from  using  or  applying  for  the  benefit 
of  any  sick  person,  any  roots  or  herbs,  the  growth  or 
produce  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  III. 

RELATION  OF  THE  STATE  MEDICAL  SOCIETY 
TO   THE   COUNTY   MEDICAL   SOCIETIES. 

The  best  idea  of  the  relationship  considered 
to  exist  between  the  State  Medical  Society  and 

5  65 


the  several  county  medical  societies  can  be  ob- 
tained from  the  following  circular  communica- 
tion, addressed  to  the  county  medical  societies 
in  1809.  It  seems  probable  that  most  of  this 
communication  was  the  result  of  Dr.  Stearns' 
efforts  to  secure  co-operation  between  the  central 
body  and  the  county  organizations.  It  was  he 
who  had  first  thought  of  legally  establishing 
a  county  medical  society,  and  then  broadened  his 
ideas  to  recognize  the  need  for  a  State  organi- 
zation. While  showing  the  independence  of  the 
various  societies,  this  letter  also  serves  to  demon- 
strate how  closely  they  w^ere  related  and  how  care- 
fully an  effort  was  being  made  to  secure  the  ful- 
filment of  the  purpose  of  the  law  under  which 
all  the  various  societies  were  created.  Special 
stress  is  laid  upon  the  scientific  objects  of  the 
medical  societies  and  their  possibilities  for  help- 
ing the  development  of  practical  medicine  and 
the  diffusion  of  scientific  knowledge  among  their 
members. 


CIRCULAR     COMMUNICATION     FROM     THE     MEDICAL     SOCIETY 

OF  THE   STATE   OF   NEW    YORK,   TO  THE   SEVERAL 

COUNTY    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.      FOR 

THE  YEAR   1809. 

To  the  President  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County 
of 

Sir — The  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
view  with  much  satisfaction  the  organization  of  the  sev- 
eral Medical  Societies  of  the  Counties,  by  virtue  of  the 
law  of  the  4th  of  April,  1806,  for  regulating  the  prac- 
tice of  Physic  and  Surgery;  and  they  entertain  no  doubt 
but  due  exertions  will  be  made  by  every  incorporated 
Medical  Society  to  satisfy  the  just  expectations  of  the 
Legislature  and  of  the  public  respecting  these  Institu- 
tions. 

This  law  not  only  contemplates  the  establishment  of 
such  regulations,  in  the  practice  of  Physic  and  Surgery, 
as  may  give  respect  to  the  Medical  profession,  and 
promote  the  public  good ;  but  also  such  as  tend  to 
improve  our  knowledge  of  the  healing  art,  and  encour- 
age professional  education.  The  Society  do  not  doubt 
but  that  the  powers  with  which  the  County  Medical 
Societies  are  invested,  will  be  exercised  with  modera- 

66 


tion,  and  that  nothing  will  be  done  to  give  offence  to 
the  public:  they  will  recollect  that  Medicine  has  been 
justly  considered  one  of  the  liberal  professions,  and 
that  this  character  can  be  supported  only  when  it  is 
exercised  on  principles  just  and  liberal. 

The  Medical  Society  of  the  State,  at  their  first  insti- 
tution, deemed  it  expedient  to  invite  their  members  to 
such  scientific  investigations,  as  would  be  interesting  to 
the  profession,  and  important  to  the  public. 

In  a  new  county,  many  of  whose  resources  are  still 
unknown,  superior  beneficial  effects  must  result  from 
favouring  scientific  researches ;  and  though  the  pecu- 
niary means  of  the  Society  have  been  limited,  yet  they 
have  offered  premiums  to  encourage  such  inquiries  as 
might  be  useful  and  interesting. 

Few  exertions  have  yet  been  made  to  examine  and 
record  the  various  productions  of  vegetable  nature 
throughout  the  State;  nor  has  much  been  done  to 
investigate  the  several  objects  connected  with  the  min- 
eral kingdom,  with  the  formation  of  the  earth,  and  the 
aspect  of  its  surface. 

These  subjects  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  ear- 
nestly recommend  to  the  attention  of  your  Society;  and 
they  make  no  doubt  but  a  spirit  of  investigation  will  be 
duly  encouraged. 

As  the  Medical  Profession  can  only  be  respectable  in 
a  well  informed  community,  and  as  the  ignorant  and 
illiterate  are  only  dupes  of  empiricism,  the  County  Medi- 
cal Societies  will  see  the  usefulness  of  exerting  their 
influence  to  promote  education,  and  to  unite  their  efforts 
with  the  Regents  of  the  University  for  such  purposes. 

The  Science  of  Medicine  comprehends  almost  all  the 
sciences  and  useful  arts,  which  contribute,  in  some 
form  or  other,  to  preserve  health,  and  to  prevent  and 
cure  disease ;  it  is,  therefore,  requisite  that  the  County 
Societies  should  unite  their  efforts  with  the  Agriculture 
and  other  Societies  of  the  State,  to  aid  in  their  labors 
the  promotion  of  the  useful  arts. 

It  may  also  be  useful  for  the  Medical  Societies  to 
collect  and  reward  such  historical  facts  as  are  connected 
with  the  settlement  of  their  respective  counties,  and 
such  other  circumstances  as  will  elucidate  the  history 
of  the  State. 

Whatever  relates  to  the  causes,  the  nature  and  the 
cure  of  diseases,  will  obviously  claim  the  attention  of 
every  Medical  Society;  and  they  will  no  doubt  invite 
their  respective  members  to  the  due  exercise  of  their 
professional  duties,  as  well  as  to  those  observations 
which  may  contribute  to  extend  the  usefulness  and  add 
to  the  importance  of  the  profession. 

The  Medical  Society  of  the  State  cannot  conclude 
this    circular   communication    without    affording    assur- 

67 


ances  of  their  perfect  disposition  to  promote  the  respec- 
tability of  the  several  County  Societies,  and  to  exert 
their  efforts  to  extend  the  usefulness  of  the  Medical 
Profession. 

By  order  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  John  Stearns,  M.D.,  Sec'y- 

Albany,  Feb.  6,  1809. 

The  next  year  a  circular  communication  of 
the  same  kind  was  sent  to  the  county  medical 
societies,  treating  of  many  practical  points.  The 
suggestions  of  the  committee  of  the  State  So- 
ciety are  nearly  all  directed  to  distinct  better- 
ments in  the  status  of  the  profession.  Espe- 
cially attention  is  called  to  the  necessity  for  care- 
ful medical  education  not  only  of  students,  but 
also  of  physicians ;  and  for  this  purpose  it  is 
suggested  that  lecturers  on  medicine  be  chosen 
by  the  County  Medical  Societies  to  keep  the  mem- 
bers in  touch  with  medical  progress.  The  ques- 
tion of  securing  for  physicians  exemption  from 
the  law  requiring  citizens  to  serve  in  the  militia 
is  discussed,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  uni- 
versal interest  aroused  by  this  communication 
led  to  the  enactment  of  the  proper  legislation  to 
secure  such  exemption.  There  is  a  tone  of 
moderation  all  through  the  circular,  which  shows 
how  careful  were  the  officers  of  the  State  Society 
not  to  hurt  the  susceptibilities  of  practitioners 
living  in  the  more  backward  districts,  nor  the 
feelings  of  those  in  attendance  at  schools  where 
medical  opportunities  were  bound  under  the  cir- 
cumstances to  be  imperfect. 

CIRCULAR    COMMUNICATION     FROM     THE     MEDICAL     SOCIETY 

OF  THE  STATE,  TO  THE  COUNTY  MEDICAL  SOCIETIES. 

FOR    THE    YEAR    181O. 

Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
Albany,  February  lo,  1810. 

The  various  relations  which  the  Medical  Society  of 
the  State  has  with  the  County  Medical  Societies  and  the 
public,  have  been  attended  to  during  the  present  Session, 
with  all  the  zeal  which  might  be  expected  from  the 
members  of  an  Institution,  to  whom  were  confided  by 
law  the  important  interests  of  the  Medical  Profession. 


The  information  which  the  Society  has  received,  of 
the  attention  paid  to  medical  education  in  some  of  the 
Seminaries  of  this  State,  has  afforded  the  highest  satis- 
faction, and  confident  expectations  are  cherished,  that 
the  County  Medical  Societies  will  yield  their  collateral 
aid  to  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  State,  to  favor 
their  laudable  exertions  to  promote  the  diffusion  of 
knowledge. 

In  the  former  communications  of  this  Society,  the 
Medical  Societies  of  the  Counties  were  invited  to  en- 
courage such  observations  as  might  advance  the  im~ 
provement  of  the  healing  art,  and  it  is  confidently 
expected  that  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  will  be 
informed  of  the  result  of  the  exertions  of  the  County 
Medical  Societies  in  the  fields  of  Science. 

The  Medical  Society  of  the  State  deem  it  their  duty 
again  to  invite  the  Medical  Societies  of  the  Counties  to 
grant  every  encouragement  to  promote  the  diffusion  of 
Medical  knowledge. 

Pursuant  to  a  resolution  of  the  Society,  it  is  also 
recommended  that  each  County  Medical  Society  do  ap- 
point two  or  more  Lecturers,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to 
afford  such  instruction  in  any  of  the  branches  of  the 
Healing  Art  as  may  meet  the  approbation  of  the  Soci- 
ety by  which  such  appointments  may  be  made. 

The  representations  which  have  been  received  re- 
specting the  operation  of  the  present  Militia  Law  on 
the  members  of  the  Medical  Profession  have  been  duly 
attended  to,  and  the  Society  has  adopted  such  measures 
as  they  deemed  most  expedient  to  obtain  a  revision  of 
said  Law.  The  Society  consider  it  their  duty  to  sup- 
port the  ancient  privileges  of  the  members  of  the  Medi- 
cal Profession,  which  in  this  State  were  not  invaded 
during  the  sanguinary  struggles  of  the  country  for 
national  independence ;  nor  can  it  be  supposed  that  the 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  this  State  will,  when  neces- 
sary, be  wanting  in  patriotic  exertions,  if  it  be  recol- 
lected that  Warren,  Mercer  and  many  others,  first  in 
council  and  not  second  in  the  field,  were  of  their  Pro- 
fession. 

The  communications  which  have  been  laid  before  the 
Society,  soliciting  an  application  to  the  Legislature  for 
an  Act  to  prevent  Inoculation  for  Small  Pox,  have  been 
attentively  considered.  As  this  is  a  subject  of  im- 
portance to  the  public,  and  highly  interesting  to  the 
feelings  of  many  respectable  citizens,  the  Society  deem 
it  proper  for  the  respective  County  Medical  Societies 
to  have  such  communications  from  the  Members  of  the 
Legislature,  in  their  vicinity,  as  may  enable  them  to 
judge  of  the  expediency  of  a  law  for  the  aforesaid 
purpose. 

69 


The  Society  view  with  much  satisfaction  the  various 
Medical  Institutions  of  the  State,  which  they  trust  will 
be  cherished  with  care  and  attention  for  the  benefit  of 
the  community.  Though  all  institutions  are  marked 
with  imperfections,  yet  when  their  administration  is  in 
conformity  with  a  spirit  of  moderation  and  justice,  these 
are  corrected ;  and  it  must  be  recollected  that  a  restless 
disposition  for  innovation  and  change  is  not  always 
connected  with  human  improvement. 

By  order  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New 
York. 

John  Stearns,  M.D.,  Sec'ry. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

NEW  YORK  MEDICAL  SOCIETIES  AS  CORPO- 
RATIONS. 

So  much  difficulty  was  encountered  in  secur- 
ing the  legal  regulation  of  medical  practice  under 
the  too  general  provisions  of  previous  laws,  that, 
in  1 813,  a  determined  effort  was  made  to  secure 
further  legislation  that  would  obviate  the  diffi- 
culties that  had  been  encountered  in  the  appli- 
cation of  the  preceding  enactment.  As  soon  as 
the  County  Medical  Societies  attempted  to  prose- 
cute unlicensed  practitioners  the  difficulty  arose 
that  there  was  doubt  as  to  their  legal  status,  that 
is,  whether  they  had  such  corporate  existence  as 
to  sue  and  be  sued.  This  was  true  to  some  ex- 
tent, also,  with  regard  even  to  the  State  Medical 
Society.  Accordingly  it  is  evident  that  promi- 
nent legal  talent  was  secured  and  a  very  formal 
bill,  bristling  with  technical  legal  phraseology 
and  having  the  many  repetitions  deemed  neces- 
sary for  binding  legislation,  was  drawn  up  in 
order  to  determine  definitely  the  legal  status  of 
both  State  and  County  Medical  Societies.  This 
became  the  basic  law  for  the  regulation  of  medi- 
cine in  New  York  State,  and  it  is  the  one  to 
which  all  laws  go  back  for  more  than  half  a 
century. 

There  was  another  and  very  practical  object 
for  the  securing  of  the  enactment.    The  original 

70 


law  creating  State  and  County  Medical  Societies 
had  given  them  legal  status  only  on  condition 
that  the  first  meeting  be  held  during  the  year 
subsequent  to  the  passage  of  the  law.  A  certain 
number  of  counties  had  not  organized  medical 
societies  during  that  year,  and  now  were  not  in 
a  position  to  come  into  existence  with  assured 
legal  status.  Besides,  New  York  State  was  grow- 
ing rapidly,  more  rapidly  than  any  other  State 
in  the  Union,  and  the  larger  counties  of  the 
early  years  of  the  century  were  gradually  being 
divided  with  the  consequent  creation  of  new 
counties.  Many  of  these  desired  to  have  the 
right  to  organize  county  medical  societies  and 
this  was  secured  by  the  Law  of  1813.  An  added 
feature  of  this  law  was  that  if  there  were  not 
enough  members  in  any  county  to  justify  the 
organization  of  a  county  medical  society  then 
medical  practitioners  in  that  county  had  a  right 
to  join  the  County  Medical  Society  in  an  adjoin- 
ing county. 

Another  special  feature  of  this  act,  and  one 
which  was  to  have  a  far-reaching  effect  upon 
the  organization  of  the  State  Medical  Society 
in  subsequent  years,  was  one  of  its  last  pro- 
visions. It  provided  for  the  election  of  not  more 
than  two  permanent  members  at  each  annual 
meeting,  these  permanent  members  to  be  "emi- 
nent and  respectable  physicians  and  surgeons 
residing  in  any  part  of  the  State."  Because  of 
the  fact  that  this  act  was  for  so  long  the  basic 
legal  faculty  of  the  State  and  County  Medical 
Societies  for  the  regulation  of  the  practice  of 
medicine  and,  indeed,  the  most  important  legal 
enactment  of  the  first  half  century  of  the  Society's 
existence,  it  has  seemed  advisable  to  give  it  in 
its  entirety  especially  as  all  subsequent  legislation 
down  almost  to  our  own  time  was  enacted  with 
a  definite  view  of  the  effect  that  it  would  have 
in  broadening  or  narrowing  the  provisions  of 
this  carefully  drawn  Enactment  of  1813. 

71 


AN  ACT  TO  INCORPORATE  MEDICAL  SOCIETIES,  FOR  THE 
PURPOSE  OF  REGULATING  THE  PRACTICE  OF  PHYSIC  AND 
SURGERY    IN    THIS    STATE.      PASSED    APRIL    10,    1813.* 

Whereas,  well  regulated  medical  societies  have  been 
formed  to  contribute  to  the  diffusion  of  true  science, 
and  particularly  the  knowledge  of  the  healing  art ; 
Therefore, 

1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  State  of  New- 
York,  represented  in  Senate  and  Assembly,  That  it  shall 
and  may  be  lawful  for  the  physicians  and  surgeons  in 
the  several  counties  of  this  state  now  authorized  by 
law  to  practice  in  their  several  professions,  except  in 
those  counties  wherein  medical  societies  have  already 
been  incorporated,  to  meet  together  on  the  first  Tuesday 
of  July  next,  at  the  place  where  the  last  term  of  the 
court  of  common  pleas  next  previous  to  such  meeting 
was  held  in  their  respective  counties ;  and  the  several 
physicians  and  surgeons  so  convened  as  aforesaid,  or 
any  part  of  them,  not  less  than  five  in  number,  shall 
proceed  to  the  choice  of  a  president,  vice-president, 
secretary  and  treasurer,  who  shall  hold  their  offices  for 
one  year,  and  until  others  shall  be  chosen  in  their 
places;  and  whenever  the  said  societies  shall  be  so 
organized  as  aforesaid,  they  are  hereby  declared  to  be 
bodies  corporate  and  politic,  in  fact  and  in  name,  by 
the  names  of  the  medical  society  of  the  county  where 
such  societies  shall  respectively  be  formed,  and  by  that 
name  shall  be  in  law  capable  of  suing  and  being  sued, 
pleading  and  being  impleaded,  answering  and  being 
answered  unto,  defending  and  being  defended  in  all 
courts  and  places,  and  in  all  matters  and  causes  what- 
soever ;  and  shall  and  may  have  a  common  seal  and 
may  alter  and  renew  the  same  at  their  pleasure ;  Pro- 
vided always,  That  if  the  said  physicians  and  surgeons 
shall  not  meet  and  organize  themselves  at  such  time 
and  place  as  aforesaid,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  them  to 
meet  at  such  other  time  as  a  majority  of  them  shall 
think  proper;  and  their  proceedings  shall  be  as  valid 
as  if  such  meeting  had  been  at  the  time  before  specified. 

5  W.,  211;    3  W.,  426;    24  B,  570. 

2.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  medical  soci- 
eties of  the  counties  already  incorporate,  shall  continue 
to  be  bodies  corporate  and  politic,  in  fact  and  in  name, 
by  the  names  of  the  medical  society  of  the  county 
where  such  societies  have  respectively  been  formed, 
and  by  that  name  shall  be  in  law  capable  of  suing 
and    being    sued,    pleading    and    being    impleaded,    an- 

*New  York  Statutes  at  Large,  Albany,  N.  Y.,   1869.     Chap.  94. 

72 


svvering  and  being  answered  unto,  defending  and 
being  defended  in  all  courts  and  places  and  in  all  mat- 
ters and  causes  whatsoever,  and  shall  and  may  have  a 
common  seal,  and  may  alter  and  renew  the  same  at  their 
pleasure,  and  that  the  president,  vice-president,  secre- 
tary and  treasurer,  of  such  incorporated  societies,  shall 
hold  their  offices  for  one  year,  and  until  others  shall  be 
chosen  in  their  places. 

3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  medical  society 
already  incorporated,  by  the  style  and  name  of  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  shall  con- 
tinue to  be  a  body  politic  and  corporate,  in  fact  and  in 
name,  and  by  that  name  shall  be  in  law  capable  of  suing 
and  being  sued,  pleading  and  being  impleaded,  answer- 
ing and  being  answered  unto,  defending  and  being  de- 
fended, in  all  courts  and  places,  and  in  all  matters  and 
causes  whatsoever,  and  shall  and  may  have  and  use  a 
common  seal,  and  may  change  and  alter  the  same  at 
their  pleasure ;  and  that  the  said  society  shall  be  com- 
posed of  one  member  from  each  of  the  county  societies 
in  the  state,  elected  by  ballot  at  their  annual  meeting, 
who  shall  meet  together  at  the  time  and  place  appointed 
by  the  said  society  for  that  purpose,  and  being  met,  not 
less  than  fifteen  in  number,  may  annually  elect  by  ballot, 
a  president,  vice-president,  secretary  and  treasurer, 
who  shall  hold  their  offices  for  one  year,  and  until 
others  shall  be  chosen  in  their  places.* 

4.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  Medical  Soci- 
ety of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  also  the  medical 
societies  of  the  respective  counties,  shall  and  may  agree 
upon  and  determine  the  times  and  places  of  meeting; 
and  the  time  so  agreed  upon  shall  forever  thereafter 
be  the  anniversary  day  of  holding  their  respective 
meetings ;  and  it  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  the  secre- 
tary of  each  of  the  county  medical  societies  to  lodge  in 
the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  respective  counties,  if  not 
already  done,  a  copy  of  all  the  proceedings  had  at 
their  first  meeting ;  and  it  shall  also  be  the  duty  of 
the  secretary  of  the  medical  society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  in  like  manner,  to  lodge  in  the  office  of 
the  secretary  of  this  state,  a  copy  of  their  proceedings 
had  at  their  first  general  meeting ;  and  the  said  clerks 
and  secretary  are  hereby  required  to  file  the  same  in 
their  respective  offices,  for  which  they  shall  each  receive 
the  sum  of  twelve  and  a  half  cents. 

5.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  the  members  now 
composing  the  medical  society  of  the  State  of  New  York 
from  each  of  the  four  great  districts,  shall  remain 
divided  into  four  classes  from  each  of  said  districts, 
and  shall  go  out  of  office  annually. 

•Note. — See  Laws  of  1853,  ch.  317.     Post,  p.  717. 
72> 


\ 


6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  secretary  of  the  medical  society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  whenever  the  seats  of  any  of  the  members 
shall  become  vacant,  to  give  information  of  the  same 
to  the  respective  county  societies,  to  the  end  that  such 
county  societies  may  supply  such  vacancy  at  their  next 
meeting. 

7.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  in  case  there  shall 
be  an  addition  to  the  number  of  persons  composing 
the  medical  society  of  the  state,  that  in  that  case  it  shall 
be  in  the  power  of  the  said  society  at  any  of  their 
annual  meetings,  and  as  often  as  they  shall  judge 
necessary,  to  alter  and  vary  the  classes  in  such  manner 
as  that  one-fourth  of  the  members  from  each  of  the 
four  great  districts  as  near  as  may  be,  shall  annually 
go  out  of  office. 

8.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  if  the  seat  of  any 
member  of  the  medical  society  of  the  State  of  New 
York  shall  be  vacated,  either  by  death,  resignation  or 
removal  from  the  county,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
medical  society  of  such  county  to  fill  such  vacancy,  at 
their  next  meeting  after  such  vacancy  shall  happen. 

9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  medical  soci- 
eties established  as  aforesaid,  are  hereby  respectively 
empowered  to  examine  all  students  who  shall  and  may 
present  themselves  for  that  purpose,  and  to  give  diplo- 
mas under  the  hand  of  the  president  and  seal  of  such 
society  before  whom  such  student  shall  be  examined, 
which  diploma  shall  be  sufficient  to  enable  the  person 
so  obtaining  the  same  to  practice  physic  or  surgery,  or 
both,  as  shall  be  set  forth  in  the  said  diploma,  in  any 
part  of  this  state. 

10.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  if  any  student 
who  shall  have  presented  himself  for  examination  be- 
fore any  of  the  medical  societies  of  the  several  counties 
of  this  state  shall  think  himself  aggrieved  by  the  de- 
cision of  such  society,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  such  stu- 
dent to  present  himself  for  examination  to  the  medical 
society  of  the  State  of  New  York ;  and  if  in  the 
opinion  of  such  society  the  student  so  applying  is  qual- 
ified for  the  practice  of  physic  or  surgery,  or  both,  as 
the  case  may  be,  the  president  of  such  society  shall, 
under  his  hand  and  seal  of  such  societj',  give  to  the 
said  applicant  a  diploma,  agreeable  to  such  decision. 

11.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  it  shall  and  may 
be  lawful  for  the  several  medical  societies  so  established 
as  aforesaid,  at  their  annual  meetings,  to  appoint  not  less 
than  three  nor  more  than  five  censors,  to  continue  in 
office  one  year  and  until  others  are  chosen,  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  carefully  and  impartially  to  examine  all  stu- 

74 


dents  who  shall  present  themselves  for  that  purpose,  and 
report  their  opinion  in  writing  to  the  president  of  the 
said  society. 

(Section  12  repealed  by  Laws  of  1828,  Chapter  21.) 

13.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  and  may  be 
lawful  for  the  medical  societies  of  the  respective  coun- 
ties of  this  State,  and  also  the  medical  society  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  to  purchase  and  hold  any  estate, 
real  and  personal,  for  the  use  of  said  respective  societies  : 
Provided,  Such  estate,  as  respectively  authorized  to  hold, 
shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars ;  and 
that  the  estate,  as  well  real  as  personal,  which  the  med- 
ical society  of  the  State  of  New  York  is  hereby  author- 
ized to  hold,  shall  not  exceed  five  thousand  dollars. 

14.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  it  shall  be  lawful 
for  the  respective  societies  to  make  such  by-laws  and 
regulations  relative  to  the  affairs,  concerns  and  property 
of  said  societies,  relative  to  the  admission  and  expulsion 
of  members,  relative  to  such  donations  and  contributions 
as  they  or  a  majority  of  the  members  at  their  annual 
meeting  shall  think  fit  and  proper:  Provided,  that  such 
by-laws,  rules  and  regulations,  made  by  the  society  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  be  not  contrary  to  nor  incon- 
sistent with  the  constitution  and  laws  of  this  State,  or 
of  the  United  States;  and  that  the  by-laws,  rules  and 
regulations  of  the  respective  county  societies  shall  not  be 
repugnant  to  the  by-laws,  rules  and  regulations  of  the 
medical  society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  nor  contrary 
to,  nor  inconsistent  with,  the  constitution  and  laws  of 
this  State  or  of  the  United  States. 

15.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  treasurer  of 
each  society  established  as  aforesaid  shall  receive  and  be 
accountable  for  all  monies  that  shall  come  into  his  hands 
by  virtue  of  any  of  the  by-laws  of  such  societies,  and 
also  for  all  monies  that  shall  come  into  the  hands  of  the 
president  thereof,  for  the  admission  of  members,  or 
licensing  students;  which  monies  the  said  president  is 
hereby  required  to  pay  over  to  the  said  treasurer,  who 
shall  account  therefor  to  the  society  at  their  annual 
meetings,  and  no  monies  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treas- 
urer unless  such  sums  and  for  such  purposes  as  shall  be 
agreed  upon  by  a  majority  of  the  society  at  their  annual 
meeting,  and  by  a  warrant  for  that  purpose,  signed  by 
the  president. 

16.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  secretary  of  each  of  the  said  medical  socie- 
ties, to  provide  a  book,  in  which  he  shall  make  an  entry 
of  all  the  resolutions  and  proceedings  which  may  be  had 
from  time  to  time,  and  also  the  name  of  each  and  every 
member  of  said  society,  and  the  time  of  his  admission, 

75 


and  also  the  annual  reports  relative  to  the  state  of  the 
treasury,  and  all  such  other  things  as  a  majority  of  the 
society  shall  think  proper;  to  which  book  any  member 
of  the  society  may  at  any  time  have  recourse ;  and  the 
same,  together  with  all  books,  papers  and  records,  which 
may  be  in  the  hands  of  the  secretary  of  the  society,  shall 
be  delivered  to  his  successor  in  office. 

17.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  be  lawful 
for  each  of  the  said  medical  societies  to  cause  to  be 
raised  and  collected  from  each  of  the  members  of  such 
society,  a  sum  not  exceeding  three  dollars  in  any  one 
year,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  a  medical  library  and 
apparatus,  and  for  the  encouragement  of  useful  discov- 
eries in  chemistry,  botany  and  such  other  improvements 
as  the  majority  of  the  society  shall  think  proper. 

18.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  any  student  who 
may  receive  a  diploma  from  the  medical  society  of  this 
state,  shall  pay  to  the  president  thereof  on  receiving  the 
same,  ten  dollars;  and  for  each  diploma  that  a  student 
may  receive  from  the  medical  society  of  any  county,  he 
shall  pay  to  the  president  thereof  on  receiving  the  same, 
five  dollars ;  Provided,  that  the  students  who  have  been 
examined  previous  to  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  May,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  twelve,  and  were  entitled 
to  receive  diplomas,  but  who  have  not  received  the  same, 
shall  not  pay  therefor  more  than  two  dollars. 

19.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  medical 
society  of  this  State  may  elect  by  ballot  at  their  annual 
meeting,  eminent  and  respectable  physicians  and  sur- 
geons, residing  in  any  part  of  the  state,  which  persons  so 
elected  shall  be  permanent  members  of  the  society,  and 
entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  same ;  Provided,  that 
not  more  than  two  such  members  shall  be  elected  in  any 
one  year  and  that  they  shall  receive  no  compensation  for 
their  attendance  from  the  funds  of  the  society. 
(Sections  20,  21,  22,  repealed  by  Laws  of  1823,  Ch.  21.) 

23.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  be  in  the 
power  of  the  Legislature  to  alter,  modify  or  repeal  this 
act  whenever  they  shall  deem  it  necessary  or  expedient. 

24.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  if  there  shall  not 
be  a  sufficient  number  of  physicians  and  surgeons  in 
any  of  the  counties  of  this  state  to  form  themselves  into 
a  medical  society  agreeably  to  this  act,  it  shall  be  lawful 
for  such  physicians  and  surgeons  to  associate  with  the 
physicians  and  surgeons  of  an  adjoining  county  for  the 
purposes  hereby  contemplated. 

25.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  this  act  shall  be 
and  hereby  is  declared  to  be  a  public  act. 

76 


CHAPTER  V. 
EARLY    PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   SOCIETY. 

The  proceedings  of  the  early  meetings  of  the 
Society  as  published  were  very  meagre.  Such 
as  they  are,  however,  they  are  of  surpassing 
interest,  because  they  serve  to  make  clear  just 
what  were  considered  to  be  the  powers  and  obli- 
gations of  the  Society.  They  exhibit  in  a  very 
striking  way  the  effort  of  the  Society  to  uplift 
the  profession  by  means  of  union,  and  the  en- 
couragement of  local  organizations,  as  well  as 
by  the  offering  of  prizes,  the  invitation  for  the 
presentation  of  essays  on  climatic  influences,  and 
other  local  features,  supposed  at  that  time  to 
be  connected  with  the  causation  of  local  diseases. 
Only  a  few  copies  of  the  early  transactions  were 
printed  and  most  of  them  have  disappeared.  Re- 
prints were  made,  however,  first  in  183 1,  and 
subsequently  on  two  other  occasions,  and  are  to 
be  found  in  the  transactions  of  later  years. 

In  spite  of  this,  however,  it  has  been  deemed 
advisable  in  this  centenary  volume  to  give  the 
original  proceedings  of  the  first  five  meetings  of 
the  Society,  in  order  to  show  the  general  char- 
acter of  the  business  transacted  and  the  methods 
of  the  Society.  After  this  time  a  modification 
of  the  original  law  that  formed  the  foundation 
of  the  Society  was  secured  from  the  Legislature, 
conferring  some  new  powers  and  also  making 
some  new  limitations  with  regard  to  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine. 

These  proceedings  of  the  early  meetings  are 
printed  just  as  they  are  found  in  the  original 
transactions,  in  Dr.  Samuel  Purple's  set  at  the 
New  York  Academy  of  Medicine,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  certain  lists  of  names  that  it  seemed 
unnecessary  to  repeat  since  those  who  are  spe- 
cially interested  in  them  can  find  them  without 
difficulty  in  any  of  the  many  reprints  of  the 
proceedings. 

77 


The  Transactions  of  the  Society  at  its  first  meeting  in 
Albany,  3rd  February,  1807. 

"The  statute  enacted  on  the  4th  of  April,  1806,  by  the 
honorable  the  legislature  of  this  state,  to  incorporate 
medical  societies,  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  prac- 
tice of  physic  and  surgery  may  be  considered  as  among 
the  first  efforts  made  in  this  country  to  give  the  medical 
profession  an  honorable  station  in  the  community. 

"By  investing  the  privileges  of  medical  men,  in  cor- 
porate communities  formed  of  the  members  of  that  pro- 
fession, the  public  may  be  freed  from  many  impositions, 
and  the  usefulness  and  importance  of  the  healing  art  will 
be  extended.  The  history  of  all  the  learned  professions 
imperiously  proves  this  fact,  that  no  one  of  those  pro- 
fessions has  ever  become  respectable  or  extensively 
useful  to  mankind,  that  was  not  under  the  restraint  of 
the  great  body  of  its  own  members.  Mankind  have  in 
all  ages  and  in  all  communities  been  too  often  deceived 
by  men  who  pretended  to  professional  merit  and  who 
by  mean  practices  on  the  ignorances,  follies  and  caprices 
of  individuals,  have  gained  an  artificial  importance  in 
society. 

"This  is  more  especially  the  case  in  the  medical  pro- 
fession. Hence  the  importance  of  the  law,  placing  the 
regulation  thereof  under  incorporated  medical  societies. 
The  advantages  to  the  community  in  placing  the  regula- 
tion of  the  medical  profession  under  the  direction  of  its 
own  members,  is  already  sufficiently  manifested,  by  the 
promotion  of  medical  education  and  encouragements 
given  to  physical  enquiries  and  observation,  and  the 
diminished  influence  of  pretenders  to  the  healing  art, 
throughout  the  State." 

The  Medical  Society  of  the  state  was  duly  organized 
on  the  first  Tuesday  in  February,  1807,  when  the  follow- 
ing members  were  chosen  officers. 

William  McClelland,  President ;  Alexander  Sheldon, 
Vice-President ;  Moses  Willard,  Treasurer ;  John 
Stearns,  Secretary.  John  M.  Mann,  Columbia ;  William 
Wheeler,  Dutchess  ;  Lyman  Cook,  Westchester ;  Moses 
Willard,  Rensselaer ;  Caleb  Samson,  Oneida  ;  Censors. 
David  R.  Amell,  Orange;  John  Ely,  Greene;  Westell 
Willoughby,  Jun.,  Herkimer;  Alexander  Sheldon,  Mont- 
gomery; John  M.  Mann,  Columbia;  Committee  of 
Correspondence. 

The  Society  enacted  certain  bye-laws,  and  agreed  to 
apply  to  the  Legislature  to  divide  the  members  of  the 
society  into  classes  and  to  make  some  provision  for  the 
support  of  the  society.  They  examined  and  licensed 
some  candidates  for  the  practice  of  physic  and  surgery. 

At  this  early  period  of  the  establishing  of  the  society, 
it  was  considered  proper  to  extend  its  usefulness  in  pro- 
moting medical  inquiries  in  the  different  counties  in  the 

78 


state.  Accordingly  each  member  of  the  society  was 
directed  to  present  a  geographical  and  topographical  de- 
scription of  the  county  in  which  he  might  practice  and 
also  a  history  of  such  diseases  as  might  prevail  in  his 
particular  place  of  residence ;  and  that  each  member 
should  give  an  account  of  any  remarkable  case  that 
might  occur  in  his  practice,  together  with  its  treatment, 
at  the  anniversary  meetings  of  the  society. 

The  society  then  adjourned  to  meet  on  the  first  Tues- 
day in  February,  1808. 

SECOND    MEETING,    ALBANY,   ON   THE    FIRST   TUESDAY    OF 
FEBRUARY,    1808. 

1.  Officers  and  members  present. — Drs.  Wm.  McClel- 
land, from  the  County  of  Albany,  President.  Alexander 
Sheldon,  of  Montgomery,  Vice-President.  John  Stearns, 
Saratoga,  Secretary.  Lyman  Cook,  Westchester ;  Jesse 
Shepherd,  Schoharie ;  David  R.  Arnell,  Orange ;  James 
G.  Graham,  Ulster;  John  Ely,  Greene;  Westell  Wil- 
loughby,  Jun.,  Herkimer;  Reuben  Hart,  Ontario;  John 
H.  Frisbee,  Onondaga;  Nicholas  Romayne,  New  York; 
Andrew  Proudfit,  Rensselaer;  Horatio  Powell,  Clinton; 
Tracy  Robinson,  Chenango;  Jonathan  Bush,  Lewis; 
Alexander  Morse,  Essex. 

The  society  then  proceeded  to  arrange  its  members 
into  four  classes,  according  to  the  four  great  senatorial 
districts  of  the  state,  pursuant  to  law,  whereupon  it 
appeared  that  in  the  Southern  district,  the  county  of 
New  York  was  drawn  into  the  third  class,  Nicholas 
Romayne,  member;  Westchester,  2d  class,  Lyman  Cook, 
member. 

Middle  District,  Greene,  4th,  John  Ely,  member. 
Columbia,  2d,  John  M.  Mann,  member.  Dutchess,  4th, 
Wiliam  Wheeler.  Ulster,  2d,  James  G.  Graham.  Dela- 
ware, 3d,  Thomas  B.  Whitmarsh.  Orange,  3d,  David  R. 
Arnell. 

Western  District.  Oneida,  ist,  Caleb  Samson.  Madi- 
son, 2d,  James  Morse.  Herkimer,  2d,  Westell  Wil- 
loughby.  Orange,  3d,  John  H.  Frisbee.  Cayuga,  ist, 
Barnabas  Smith.  Jefferson,  4th,  Hugh  Henderson. 
Chenango,  2d,  Tracy  Robinson.  Ontario,  4th,  Reuben 
Hart.  Lewis,  4th,  Jonathan  Bush.  Otsego,  ist,  Gurdon 
Huntington. 

Eastern  District.  Essex,  4th,  Alexander  Morse.  Scho- 
harie, 4th,  Jesse  Shepherd.  Saratoga,  ist,  John  Stearns. 
Clinton,  2d,  Horatio  Powell.  Albany,  ist,  William  Mc- 
Clelland. Montgomery,  3d,  Alexander  Sheldon.  Wash- 
ington, 2d .     Rensselaer,  3d,  Andrew  Proudfit. 

2.  Election  of  Officers  for  1809.  The  Society  pro- 
ceeded to  the  anniversary  election  agreeably  to  law,  when 
it  appeared  that  Dr.  Nicholas  Romayne  was  elected 
President.    Dr.  Alexander  Sheldon,  Vice-President.    Dr. 

79 


John  Stearns,  Secretary.  Dr.  James  G.  Graham,  Treas- 
urer. Dr.  Lyman  Cook,  Dr.  John  M.  Mann,  Dr.  William 
Wheeler,  Dr.  David  R.  Arnell,  Dr.  Westell  Willoughby, 
Censors.  Dr.  John  Ely,  Dr.  Alexander  Sheldon,  Dr. 
Jesse  Shepherd,  Dr.  Reuben  Hart,  Dr.  Barnabas  Smith, 
Committee  of  Correspondence. 

3.  Prize  Questions. — The  society  taking  into  considera- 
tion the  importance  of  promoting  philosophical  and 
medical  enquiries,  which  might  be  interesting  to  the 
public,  deemed  it  expedient  for  that  purpose  to  adopt 
prize  questions,  when  the  following  were  agreed  to,  and 
directed  to  be  published. 

1st.  A  medal,  value  fifty  dollars,  for  the  best  disser- 
tation on  the  topography,  geology  and  mineralogy  of 
any  county  in  the  state,  together  with  an  account  of  the 
prevalent  diseases  in  such  county. 

2nd.  A  medal,  value  twenty-five  dollars,  for  the  sec- 
ond best  dissertation  on  the  same  subject. 

3d.  A  medal,  value,  twenty-five  dollars,  for  the  best 
dissertation  on  the  causes  and  best  method  of  preventing 
or  curing  the  typhus  mitior,  or  low  nervous  fever,  which 
prevails  in  the  different  counties  of  this  state. 

Drs.  Sheldon,  Graham  and  Wheeler,  who  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  determine  the  most  eligible  mode 
of  adjudging  the  preceding  prize  questions,  reported — 
That  it  be  the  duty  of  the  President,  Vice-President, 
Secretary,  Treasurer  and  Censors,  to  select  from  the 
communications,  six  of  the  best  dissertations  on  each 
question,  which  shall  be  presented  to  the  society  for 
final  adjudication. 

Thereupon  the  said  report  was  approved. 

4th.  Geological  Descriptions,  &c. — The  following  mem- 
bers in  pursuance  of  the  by-laws,  reported  a  topo- 
graphical and  geological  description  of  their  respective 
counties,  together  with  the  diseases  prevalent  in  the 
same,  viz.  Dr.  Alexander  Sheldon,  Montgomery;  Dr. 
David  R.  Arnell,  Orange ;  Dr.  Willard  Wheeler,  Dutch- 
ess ;  Dr.  John  Stearns,  Saratoga ;  Dr.  Hugh  Henderson, 
Jefferson  ;  Dr.  Horatio  Powell,  Clinton  ;  and  Dr.  Lyman 
Cook  of  Westchester.  Dr.  Westell  Willoughby  com- 
municated a  case  of  hydrophobia,  and  Dr.  Moses  Wil- 
lard a  case  of  ascites  successfully  treated. 

5th.  Amendment  to  Bye-Laws. — The  following  ordi- 
nance was  reported  to  the  society  by  Dr.  Arnell,  Dr. 
Willoughby  and  Dr.  Hart,  in  an  amendment  to  the 
existing  bye-laws : 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  that  seven  members  of  the  society  be  com- 
petent to  form  a  quorum,  and  to  transact  the  business  of 
the  society  until  the  first  Tuesday  in  February  next. 

Whereupon  the  said  ordinance  was  adopted. 

6th.  College  of  Physicians,  New  York.— The  society 

80 


having  considered  that  the  population  of  the  county  of 
New  York  was  more  than  the  average  population  of  two 
other  counties  in  the  state;  and  that  it  might  be  inter- 
esting to  the  furthering  the  views  of  his  society  in 
promoting  medical  education,  that  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons  in  the  City  of  New  York  should  be 
represented  in  this  society,  and  have  the  privileges  of  a 
county  medical  society.  Whereupon  it  was  ordained, 
that  the  society  consent  to  receive  a  representative  from 
the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  the  City  of 
New  York.  And  that  the  said  College  should  have  all 
the  other  rights  and  privileges  of  a  county  medical  so- 
ciety, if  the  honorable  the  Legislature  deem  the  same 
expedient. 

7th.  Honorary  Members  and  Presidents  of  County  So- 
cieties.— The  following  gentlemen  were  elected  honorary 
members  of  the  society.  Benjamin  Rush,  M.D.,  Phila- 
delphia. Nathan  Smith,  M.D.,  Dartmouth  College,  New 
Hampshire.  Dr.  John  Pomeroy,  Burlington,  Vermont. 
Dr.  John  Miller,  Onondaga,  New  York.  Dr.  Moses 
Willard,  Albany,  New  York. 

And  it  was  further  ordained  that  all  members  of  the 
first  class  who  may  not  be  re-elected  by  their  respective 
county  societies,  shall  be  honorary  members  of  this 
society. 

And  it  was  further  ordained  that  all  the  Presidents 
of  the  dififerent  county  societies,  and  also  those  members 
of  the  Legislature  who  were  members  of  any  county  so- 
ciety in  the  state,  shall  be  cx-ofUcio  honorary  members. 

THIRD  MEETING,  ALBANY,  FEBRUARY,   iSOQ. 

1.  Officers  and  Members  present.  —  Drs.  Nicholas 
Romayne,  New  York,  President;  Alexander  Sheldon, 
Montgomery,  Vice-President;  John  Stearns,  Saratoga, 
Secretary ;  William  Wheeler,  Dutchess ;  Lyman  Cook, 
Westchester;  John  M.  Mann,  Columbia;  David  R.  Ar- 
nell.  Orange ;  John  Ely,  Greene ;  Andrew  Proudfit,  Rens- 
selaer; Westell  Willoughby,  Herkimer;  Jesse  Shepherd, 
Jefiferson,  vice  Hugh  Henderson,  deceased ;  Walter  Col- 
ter, Onondaga,  vice  John  H.  Frisbee,  resigned;  Abra- 
ham Allen,  Washington,  vice  Philip  Smith,  deceased; 
Amos  G.  Hull,  Oneida,  vice  Caleb  Samson,  whose  term 
had  expired ;  Alexander  Morse,  Essex. 

2.  Two  prizes.  Application  to  the  Legislature,  and 
Smallpox.  Two  prize  dissertations  on  the  typhus  mitior, 
and  one  on  the  topography,  geology,  mineralogy  and 
natural  history  of  New  York,  were  presented  to  the 
society  and  committed  to  Drs.  Wheeler,  Proudfit  and 
Stearns. 

Drs.  Sheldon,  Arnell,  Mann  and  Shepherd  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  consider  and  prepare  an  applica- 

6  8l 


tion  to  the  Legislature  for  aid  to  promote  the  science 
and  practice  of  medicine  in  this  state. 

Drs.  Romayne,  Mann  and  Colter,  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  petition  the  Legislature  for  a  law  to  pho- 
hibit  the  inoculation  of  small-pox  in  this  state. 

3.  Death  of  Dr.  Henderson. — The  society  being  in- 
formed of  the  death  of  Dr.  Hugh  Henderson,  of  Jeffer- 
son County, 

Resolved,  to  wear  the  customary  mourning  for  a 
month  as  testimony  of  respect  to  his  memory. 

Pursuant  to  the  bye-laws,  and  by  permission  obtained 
of  the  Legislature,  the  president  delivered  his  Anniver- 
sary Address  in  the  Assembly  Chamber. 

4.  Election  of  Officers  for  1810. — The  society  pro- 
ceeded to  elect  their  officers  for  the  year  ensuing,  when 
Nicholas  Romayne,  M.D.,  was  chosen  President;  Alex- 
ander Sheldon,  Vice-President;  Andrew  Proudfit, 
Treasurer;  John  Stearns,  Secretary;  Lyman  Cook,  John 
M.  Mann,  Wm.  Wheeler,  David  R.  Arnell,  Westell  Wil- 
loughby.  Censors ;  Nicholas  Romayne,  John  Ely,  Amos 
G.  Hull,  Jesse  Shepherd,  Abraham  Allen,  Reuben  Hart, 
Henry  H.  Sherwood,  Committee  of  Correspondence. 

Drs.  Shepherd,  Proudfit  and  Arnell  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  present  the  thanks  of  the  society  to  the 
President  for  his  Anniversary  Address,  and  to  request 
a  copy  for  publication. 

5.  Honorary  Members. — Dr.  Abraham  Allen  nomi- 
nated the  Rev.  Alexander  Proudfit,  A.M.,  of  Salem,  in 
the  county  of  Washington  ;  and  the  President  nominated 
John  Warren,  M.D.,  Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Surgery 
in  the  University  of  Cambridge,  to  become  honorary 
members  of  the  society. 

6.  Dr.  Morse. — Dr.  Morse  read  a  dissertation  on  the 
topography,  mineralogy  and  diseases  of  the  County  of 
Essex. 

7.  Anniversary  address  by  the  President,  Dr.  Ro- 
mayne.— It  being  the  first  we  find  published,  and  so  well 
adapted  to  the  occasion,  that  we  shall  insert  it  entire. 

It  will  be  found  among  notable  addresses. 


FOURTH    MEETING,    ALBANY,    FEBRUARY,     181O. 

I.  Officers  and  Members  present. — Dr.  Nicholas  Ro- 
ma3Tie,  President,  New  York;  Dr.  Alexander  Sheldon, 
Vice-President,  Montgomery;  Dr.  Andrew  Proudfit, 
Treasurer,  Rensselaer;  Dr.  John  Steams,  Secretary, 
Saratoga;  Dr.  Westell  Willoughby,  Censor,  Herkimer; 
Dr.  Alexander  Morse,  Essex;  Dr.  John  Ely,  Greene. 

The  following  members  presented  their  credentials 
which  were  approved,  and  they  accordingly  took  their 
seats. 

Dr.    William   Wilson,   Columbia;    Dr.    Henry  White, 


82 


Westchester;  Dr.  Leer  Ward,  Genesee;  Dr.  Asa  B. 
Sizer,  Madison;  Dr.  Benjamin  Bevier,  Ulster;  Dr. 
Henry  I.  Hoornbeck,  Orange ;  Dr.  Oliver  C.  Comstock, 
Seneca ;  Dr.  John  Sofiford,  Lewis ;  Dr.  Oliver  Davidson, 
Clinton;  Dr.  William  McClelland,  Albany;  Dr.  Abra- 
ham Allen,  Washington. 

2.  Dr.  Hosack's  Botanical  Garden  and  Report  thereon. 
— A  memorial  from  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County 
of  New  York,  to  the  Legislature,  recommended  by  the 
corporation  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  the  Gover- 
nors of  the  New  York  Hospital,  for  the  purchase  of 
Dr.  Hosack's  Botanic  Garden,  was  presented  to  the 
Society  and  referred  to  Drs.  Sheldon,  Ely  and  Ward. 

Dr.  Sheldon  from  the  committee  to  whom  was  re- 
ferred the  memorials  for  the  purchase  of  Dr.  Hosack's 
Botanic  Garden,  reported  the  following  resolution : — 
That  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  do 
unite  with  the  Medical  Society  of  the  county  of  New 
York,  the  corporation  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  the 
Governors  of  the  New  York  Hospital,  in  soliciting  the 
honorable  the  Legislature  to  purchase  the  botanic  estab- 
lishment of  Dr.  Hosack,  if  consistent  with  the  funds  of 
the  state,  or  otherwise,  to  grant  a  lottery  for  that  pur- 
pose. And  that  the  establishment,  if  purchased,  be  so 
managed  under  the  direction  of  the  Legislature,  as  may 
be  most  convenient  to  the  diffusion  of  medical  science. 

Whereupon  it  was  resolved,  that  the  said  resolution  be 
engrossed  on  the  aforesaid  memorial,  and  signed  by  the 
President  and  Secretary.* 

3.  Honorary  Members. — John  Warren,  Professor  of 
Anatomy  and  Surgery  in  the  University  of  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts ;  and  the  Rev.  Alexander  Proudfit,  A.M., 
of  Salem,  Washington  County,  having  been  duly  pro- 
posed, were  unanimously  elected  honorary  members  of 
this  society. 

4.  Election  of  Officers  for  181 1. — The  Society  proceed- 
ed to  the  annual  election  of  officers,  when  Dr.  Nicholas 
Romayne  was  chosen  President ;  Dr.  Alexander  Sheldon, 
Vice-President;  Dr.  Andrew  Proudfit,  Treasurer;  Dr. 
John  Stearns,  Secretary;  Drs.  Westell  Willoughby, 
jun.,    William   M'Clelland,    William   Wilson,   Abraham 

*In  the  reprint  of  the  proceedings  in  the  United  States  Medi- 
cal and  Surgical  Journal  there  occurs  the  following  note: 

In  pursuance  of  preceding  recommendations,  Dr.  Hosack's 
Botanic  Garden  was  purchased  by  the  Legislature  at  seventy  three 
thousand  dollars — that  being  the  amount  of  which  it  was  esti- 
mated by  three  respectable  commissioners  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  It  was  subsequently  ceded  to  Columbia  College  on  condi- 
tion that  a  college  edifice  should  be  erected  on  the  ground  within 
ten  years.     This  condition  was  afterwards  revoked. 

The  property  at  this  time  is  said  to  be  worth  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  we  understand  that  it  is  the 
intention  of  the  Trustees  of  Columbia  College  to  erect  on  the 
spot  a  splendid  Building. 

83 


Sheldon,  Andrew  Proudfit,  John  Stearns,  Henry  H. 
Sherwood,  Oliver  C.  Comstock,  John  Sofford,  and 
Henry  White,  Committee  of  Correspondence. 

5.  Militia  Law. — Dr.  Sheldon,  from  the  committee  to 
whom  were  referred  the  communications  from  the 
county  medical  societies  of  New  York,  Saratoga,  and 
Montgomery,  reported  the  following  resolution ;  That 
the  section  of  Militia  Law  which  compels  physicians 
and  surgeons  to  do  military  duty,  is  contrary  to  their 
ancient  rights  and  privileges,  and  that  a  committee  be 
appointed  to  wait  upon  Dr.  Mitchell,  and  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislature,  to  represent  the  same  and  to 
request  their  friendly  aid  to  effect  the  repeal  of  the 
said  section.  Whereupon  Drs.  Stearns,  Comstock  and 
Romayne  were  appointed  a  committee  for  that  purpose. 

6.  Communications  read. — Dr.  Stearns  read  a  com- 
munication on  a  case  of  catalepsy,  successfully  treated. 

Dr.  Hoornbeck  read  a  communication  on  the  topog- 
raphy, and  medical  history  of  the  county  of  Orange. 

The  Secretary  read  a  communication  on  the  like  sub- 
jects, respecting  the  county  of  Ontario,  from  Dr.  Hart. 

7.  County  Medical  Schools. — The  Committee  to  whom 
was  referred  the  subject  of  the  County  Medical  Schools 
reported  that,  whereas,  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State 
feel  solicitous  to  promote  the  respect,  ability  and  useful- 
ness of  the  several  county  medical  societies,  by  inviting 
them  to  promote  general  diffusion  of  medical  knowl- 
edge, therefore,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  each  County  Medical  Society  do 
appoint  two  or  more  discreet  lecturers,  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  to  give  such  instruction  to  medical  students  as 
the  encouragement  they  may  receive  will  justify,  and 
that  they  be  requested  to  communicate  to  the  Committee 
of  Correspondence  of  this  Society,  special  accounts  of 
their  success,  for  the  information  of  this  and  the  county 
societies. 

8.  Honorary  Members. — Dr.  Samuel  Mitchill,  Profes- 
sor of  Natural  History  and  Botany,  in  the  University  of 
this  State ;  and  Dr.  Hosack,  Professor  of  Materia  Med- 
ica  and  Botany,  in  Columbia  College,  were  nominated 
honorary  members  of  this  Society. 

9.  Admitted  to  practice. — Drs.  Quackenbos  and  Bur- 
rill,  of  the  County  of  New  York,  and  Dr.  Manney  of 
the  county  of  Dutchess,  having  produced  satisfactory 
testimony  of  their  medical  studies,  and  proficiency  in 
medical  knowledge,  were  admitted  to  the  privileges  of 
physicians  and  surgeons  in  this  state. 

FIFTH   MEETING,  ALBANY,  FEBRUARY,   181I. 

I.  Officers  and  Members  present :  Dr.  John  Stearns, 
Secretary;  Drs.  William  Wilson,  William  McClelland, 
Abraham  Allen,  and  Westell  Willoughby,  Censors ;  Dr. 

84 


Benjamin  R.  Bevier,  Ulster;  Dr.  Henry  H.  Sherwood, 
Jefferson ;  Dr.  Asa  B.  Sizer,  Madison ;  Dr.  Moses  Wil- 
lard,  Honorary  Member. 

The  following  new  members  presented  their  creden- 
tials, which  were  approved  and  they  accordingly  took 

Dr.  John  R.  B.  Rodgers,  New  York ;  Dr.  Eli  Burritt, 
Rensselaer;  Dr.  Anthony  Davis,  Orange;  Dr.  Adabel  E. 
Paine,  Delaware;  Dr.  William  Patrick,  Jun.,  Saratoga; 
Dr.  James  L.  VanKleek,  Dutchess ;  Dr.  Jeremiah  D. 
Fowler,  Westchester. 

The  President  of  the  society  being  absent.  Dr.  Wil- 
liam M'Clelland  was  called  to  the  Chair. 

2.  Honorary  Members. — Drs.  Samuel  L.  Mitchill  and 
David  Hosack,  having  been  duly  proposed,  were  elected 
honorary  members  of  the  society. 

3.  Prize  Medal. — The  prize  medal  for  "the  best  dis- 
sertation on  the  topography,  geology,  mineralogy  and 
medical  history  of  any  county  in  the  State  of  New 
York,"  was  adjudged  to  Dr.  Stearns  of  Saratoga. 

4.  Respect  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Wheeler. — On  mo- 
tion it  was  Resolved,  that  the  members  of  this  society 
wear  crepe  around  the  left  arm  for  thirty  days,  as  a 
testimony  of  respect  for  their  deceased  brother,  Dr. 
William  Wheeler  of  Dutchess. 

5.  Election  of  Officers  for  1812. — The  Society  pro- 
ceeded to  the  annual  election  of  officers,  when  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen  were  chosen :  Dr.  William  Wilson, 
President;  Dr.  Westell  Willoughby,  Vice-President; 
Dr.  Asa  B.  Sizer,  Treasurer;  Dr.  Benjamin  R.  Bevier, 
Secretary;  Drs.  John  R.  B.  Rodgers,  New  York;  Wil- 
liam M'Clelland,  Albany;  William  Patrick,  jun.,  Sara- 
toga ;  Eli  Burritt,  Rensselaer ;  and  Jesse  Shepherd, 
Schoharie,  Censors. 

Drs.  William  Wilson,  Columbia;  Asa  B.  Sizer,  Madi- 
son ;  John  R.  B.  Rodgers,  New  York ;  Eli  Burritt,  Rens- 
selaer; John  Ely,  Greene;  Henry  H.  Sherwood,  Jeffer- 
son ;  and  Jesse  Shepherd,  Schoharie,  Committee  of  Cor- 
respondence. 

6.  Petition  to  the  Legislature. — Dr.  Rodgers  from  the 
Committee  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of 
petitioning  the  Legislature  for  a  fund  and  for  other 
purposes,  reported  a  draft  of  a  memorial  praying  for 
aid  and  sundry  amendments  to  the  law,  which  was  ap- 
proved of  and  ordered  to  be  left  to  the  care  of  Dr.  John 
Stearns ;  and  his  exertions  and  influence  requested  in 
and  with  the  Legislature,  for  the  passage  of  a  law  con- 
forming thereto. 

7.  Honorary  Members. — Drs.  Nicholas  Romayne  and 
John  Stearns  were  proposed  honorary  members  of  the 
society. 

On  motion,  it  was  Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the 

85 


society  be  presented  to  Dr.  John  Stearns  for  his  faithful 
services  as  Secretary. 

8.  Dr.  Willard  Dissertation.— Dr.  Moses  Willard 
read  and  presented  to  the  society  a  dissertation  on 
typhus  mitior. 

On  motion  it  was  resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the 
society  be  presented  to  Dr.  Willard  for  his  dissertation. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
BY-LAWS. 

The  original  By-laws  of  the  Medical  Society 
of  the  State  of  New  York  give  the  best  possible 
idea  of  what  the  original  intention  of  the  founders 
of  the  Society  was  with  regard  to  the  influence 
it  should  wield  on  the  professional  life  and  prac- 
tical medicine  of  the  time.  All  the  details  of 
Society  legislation  with  regard  to  the  licensing 
of  physicians  are  of  historic  interest,  and  the  re- 
lationship to  the  county  societies  shows  just  what 
these  different  bodies  considered  their  rights  and 
privileges.  Certain  features  of  the  by-laws  of 
the  State  Society  deserve  special  mention  because 
they  emphasized  the  different  policy  from  that 
of  other  State  Medical  Societies  of  the  time,  and 
especially  emphasized  the  ethical  relationships 
which  should  exist  between  physicians  and  the 
high  standard  and  professional  character  which 
the  Society  hoped  to  maintain.  They  have  been 
changed,  sometimes  even  amended,  since  the 
original  draft,  but  now  that  a  century  has  passed 
their  historic  interest  is  greater  than  ever. 

Some  portions  of  the  oriffinal  organic  law  read 
rather  curiously  in  these  modern  times,  and  are 
expressive  of  a  spirit  rather  different  to  that  of 
the  modern  medical  society.  For  instance,  it  is 
now  the  custom  in  many  parts  of  this  country  for 
medical  societies  to  determine  what  shall  be  ordi- 
nary fees  for  medical  and  surgical  work  under 
various  circumstances,  though,  according  to  the 
by-laws  of  the  New  York  Society,  any  member 
guilty  of  promoting  or  encouraging  in  any  way 
such  action  shall  on  conviction  be  expelled  from 

86 


the  Society  and  be  forever  thereafter  debarred 
from  being  again  received  as  a  member  of  it.  In 
general  the  Society  retained  the  privilege  of  re- 
voking the  license  to  practice  and  definitely 
threatened  with  expulsion  any  member  who 
should  be  guilty  of  gross  immorahty  or  who 
shall  have  improper  pretensions  to  any  specific 
or  nostrum.  This  conjunction  of  offences,  for 
which  so  condign  a  punishment  was  meted  out, 
forms  an  interesting  reflection  on  the  ethical  tem- 
per of  the  members  of  the  Medical  Society  at  the 
beginning,  and  is  an  index  of  the  guiding  spirit 
of  all  their  legislation. 

ORIGINAL   BY-LAWS. 

Whereas,  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York  has  been  duly  incorporated,  pursuant 
to  the  Statute  of  the  4th  of  April,  1806.  And 
whereas  among  other  grants  and  privileges,  the 
said  Medical  Society  are  invested  with  powers  to 
make  such  by-laws  and  regulations  as  they  or  a 
majority  of  the  members  at  their  annual  meeting 
shall  deem  fit  and  proper.  And  whereas  by  the 
said  statute,  the  by-laws  and  regulations  of  the 
respective  county  Medical  Societies  are  directed 
not  to  be  repugnant  to  the  by-laws  and  regula- 
tions of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State.  There- 
fore, 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  That  the  anniversary  meet- 
ing of  this  Society  shall  be  held  on  the  first 
Tuesday  in  February,  in  every  year;  and  all 
other  meetings  may  be  held  at  such  time  and 
place  as  may  be  determined  by  a  majority  of  the 
Society  convened  at  any  legal  meeting,  and  that 
seven  members  shall  constitute  a  board,  to  trans- 
act the  business  of  the  Society,  except  that  of 
altering,  amending  or  abrogating  these  by-laws, 
when  it  shall  be  necessary  for  eleven  members  to 
be  present  to  form  a  board  for  such  purposes. 

And  be  it  further  ordained,  by  the  authority 

87 


aforesaid,  That  the  order  of  transacting  business 
at  the  meetings  of  the  Society  shall  be  in  manner 
and  form  as  follows,  viz. : 

First.  The  President  or  presiding  officer  of 
the  said  Society  may  declare  the  same  to  be  con- 
stituted whenever  a  quorum  is  formed,  accord- 
ing to  the  preceding  ordinance. 

Second.  The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  shall 
be  read  by  the  Secretary,  and  if  no  member 
object  to  the  same,  the  minutes  shall  be  con- 
sidered approved. 

Third.  The  President  or  presiding  officer,  or 
any  member,  may  introduce  any  proposition  rela- 
tive to  the  duties  or  concerns  of  the  said  Society, 
and  the  same  shall  be  disposed  of  according  to 
the  pleasure  of  a  majority  of  the  members  pres- 
ent at  any  such  meeting. 

Fourth.  A  majority  of  the  members  of  the 
Society  present  at  any  meeting  may  direct  an 
adjournment  whenever  it  shall  be  deemed  proper. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  That  every  member  shall  observe 
order  and  decorum  at  all  the  meetings  of  the 
Society,  and  shall  pay  proper  respect  to  their 
fellow  members,  and  to  the  President  and  other 
officers.  And  all  the  members  shall  take  their 
places  whenever  the  President  or  presiding  offi- 
cer shall  declare  the  Society  constituted,  and 
whenever  a  member  shall  speak,  he  shall  stand 
up  and  address  the  chair,  and  whenever  any  two 
or  more  members  offer  to  speak  at  the  same  time, 
the  President  or  presiding  officer  shall  determine 
the  priority  in  speaking. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 
aforesaid.  That  the  President  of  the  said  Society 
shall  preside  at  the  meetings,  and  shall  preserve 
order  and  decorum  in  the  same ;  he  shall  per- 
form the  duties  of  his  office  as  now  are,  or  here- 
after may  be  directed,  by  the  laws  of  the  State, 
or  the  ordinances,  by-laws  and  regulations  of  the 
Society ;   he  shall  nominate  and  appoint  all  com- 


mittees  to  transact  the  business  of  the  said  So- 
ciety, unless  otherwise  directed  by  a  special  reso- 
lution of  a  majority  of  the  members  present ;  he 
shall  take  the  sense  of  the  Society  on  any  motion 
made  and  seconded ;  he  shall  have  a  casting  vote 
in  all  transactions  where  the  votes  of  the  mem- 
bers are  equally  divided,  and  shall  deliver  the  de- 
cisions of  the  Society. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 
aforesaid.  That  the  President  of  the  said  Society 
shall,  at  the  annual  meeting,  and  at  the  end  of 
each  year  after  his  election  to  office,  deliver  to 
the  Society  a  dissertation  on  some  appropriate 
subject;  and  in  case  of  default  in  delivering  the 
same,  he  shall  forfeit  and  pay  to  the  Society  the 
sum  of  twenty-five  dollars ;  Provided  always, 
That  if  such  President  shall  duly  cause  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  Society  a  copy  of  his  anniversary 
dissertation,  he  may,  if  the  Society  deem  proper, 
be  excused  from  delivering  the  same ;  but  he  can- 
not be  exonerated  from  the  fine  of  twenty-five 
dollars  for  not  composing  and  presenting  such 
dissertation,  and  a  copy  of  such  dissertation,  so 
presented,  shall  be  read  to  the  Society  by  the 
Vice-President  or  President  pro  tempore. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  the  treasurer  shall  keep  and  be 
accountable  for  all  moneys  placed  in  his  belong- 
ing to  the  said  Society,  and  shall  thereout,  pay 
such  warrants  as  may  be  drawn  by  the  president 
or  vice-president  for  the  use  of  the  Society ;  and 
shall  present  at  each  anniversary  meeting  of  this 
Society,  a  minute  report  of  the  state  of  the  treas- 
ury; and  the  treasurer  shall  moreover  perform 
all  the  duties  prescribed  by  law,  and  the  ordi- 
nances, by-laws  and  resolutions  of  this  Society. 

And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  a  majority  of  the  Censors  shall 
have  power  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  whole 
number ;  and  they  are  hereby  authorized  to 
examine   students   separately,  if  they  deem  the 

89 


same  expedient ;  and  the  said  Censors  shall  per- 
form all  such  duties  as  may  be  directed  by  law, 
and  the  ordinances,  by-laws,  and  resolutions  of 
the  Society. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  all  students  of  medicine  who  shall 
have  presented,  to  a  majority  of  the  Censors  of 
the  said  Society,  satisfactory  testimony  that  they 
have  studied  physic  and  surgery,  as  is  directed 
by  the  statute  for  incorporating  this  Society,  and 
who  shall  upon  due  examination  by  the  Censors 
be  found  qualified  to  practice  physic  or  surgery 
or  both ;  and  have  their  said  qualifications  certi- 
fied in  such  manner  as  is  directed  by  law,  shall, 
before  they  receive  the  requisite  diploma  from 
the  president,  sign  a  declaration  in  the  words 
following,  viz. : 

"I,  A.  B.,  do  solemnly  declare.  That  I  will  honestly, 
virtuously  and  chastely  conduct  myself  in  the  practice  of 
physic  and  surgery,  with  the  privilege  of  exercising  such 
profession  I  am  now  to  be  invested ;  and  that  I  will  with 
fidelity  and  honor,  do  everything  in  my  power  for  the 
benefit  of  the  sick  committed  to  my  charge." 

Which  said  declaration,  so  signed,  by  every 
candidate  to  practice  physic  and  surgery,  shall  be 
filed  by  the  secretary  in  the  archives  of  the 
Society. 

And  be  it  further  directed,  that  the  president 
and  secretary  be  and  they  are  hereby  authorized, 
to  grant  to  every  such  candidate  qualified  to 
practice  physic  and  surgery,  agreeable  to  law,  in 
the  name  and  under  the  seal  of  this  said  Society, 
a  diploma,  in  the  words  following,  to  wit: 

Omnibus  ad  quos  hsec  literae  pervenerint. 
S 

Nos,  Societatis  Medicae  Republicae  Novi  Eboraci, 
Prseses,  Casterique  Socii,  hoc  scripto  testatum  volumus 
(inserting  the  name  and  county  of  the  candidate) 
Artem  medicam  et  chirurgicam  sub  viris  in  medicini 
peritis,  tempore  prsestituto,  studio  incubuisse,  et  in  hiis 
studiis  prog^essus,  loculento  testimonio  nobis  probasse 

90 


et  commendasse ;  Quocirca  ex  author itate  nobis  com- 
missa  medicinse  et  artis  chirurgige,  in  hac  civitate,  exer- 
cendse  et  potestatum  cum  omnibus  priviligiis  ac  _  has 
artes  pertinentibus  concedimus.  In  quorum  testimo- 
nium hoce  diploma,  sigillo  nostro  munitum,  donavimus. 
Datum  (the  place,  day  and  year  to  be  inserted). 

And  be  it  further  ordained,  that  if  any  candi- 
date should  request  a  diploma  in  English,  it  shall 
be  in  the  following  form,  viz. : 

"To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  or  may 
in  any  wise  concern — The  President  and  Members  of 
the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  send 
greeting:  Whereas  (name  and  county  of  the  candi- 
date) hath  exhibited  unto  us  satisfactory  testimony  that 
he  hath  studied  physic  and  surgery,  for  the  term  and  in 
the  manner  directed  by  law ;  and  hath  also,  upon  exam- 
ination by  our  Censors,  given  sufficient  proofs  of  his 
proficiency  in  the  healing  art,  and  of  his  moral  char- 
acter. Wherefore,  by  virtue  of  the  powers  vested  in 
us  by  the  law,  we  do  grant  unto  the  said  (name  of  the 
candidate)  the  privilege  of  practicing  physic  and  surgery 
in  this  state,  together  with  all  the  rights  and  immuni- 
ties which  usually  appertain  to  Physicians  and  Surgeons. 
In  witness  whereof  we  have  granted  this  diploma. 
Sealed  with  our  seal,  and  testified  by  our  President  and 
Secretary,  at  (place,  day  and  year). 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  all  students  who  may  hereafter  be 
licensed  by  any  County  ]Medical  Society  in  this 
State,  shall  be  required  to  sign  a  declaration 
corresponding  to  that  set  forth  in  the  preceding 
ordinance ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  presi- 
dent of  the  medical  society  of  every  county  to 
exact  and  demand  the  same,  and  to  file  such 
declaration  in  the  archives  of  the  Society  grant- 
ing such  diploma. 

And  it  is  also  further  ordained,  that  the 
diploma  to  be  hereafter  granted,  to  every  person 
to  practice  physic  and  surgery,  by  any  county 
medical  society  in  this  State  shall  correspond 
with  the  diploma  in  the  preceding  ordinance, 
adapting  the  same  to  the  name  of  every  such 
county. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 

91 


aforesaid,  that  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  every  mem- 
ber of  this  said  Society,  to  present  at  ever}'  anni- 
versary meeting  a  copy  of  the  by-laws  of  the  said 
county  society,  for  which  he  is  delegate,  and  to 
furnish  this  Society  with  an  abridged  historical 
account  of  the  proceedings  of  every  such  county 
society. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  each  and  every  member  shall 
present  to  this  Society,  all  proper  information 
respecting  the  geology  and  topography  of  the 
county  in  which  he  resides,  together  with  an 
historical  account  of  the  diseases  which  prevail  at 
any  season  of  the  year ;  and  shall  communicate 
all  such  information  in  his  power  which  may 
contribute  to  the  public  good  or  advance  the 
knowledge  of  the  healing  art. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  the  said  Society  shall  appoint  a 
committee  of  not  less  than  five  nor  more  than 
seven  members,  as  a  committee  of  correspon- 
dence, whose  duty  it  shall  be.  in  their  joint  or 
individual  capacity,  to  correspond  with  the  liter- 
ary societies,  and  men  eminent  for  knowledge, 
and  they  shall  present  such  communications  as 
they  may  deem  proper  to  the  Society. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  the  president  or  vice-president  of 
said  Society,  shall,  together  with  the  secretary, 
and  three  Censors,  from  a  Comita  ^linora  to 
carry  into  execution  the  laws  and  ordinances  of 
the  Society  during  its  adjournment. 

And  whereas  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  dignity 
of  the  medical  profession,  for  physicians  and 
surgeons,  in  their  corporate  capacities  to  arrange 
and  fix  professional  charges : 

Be  it  further  ordained,  that  any  member  of 
this  Society  who  shall  hereafter  be  guilty  of  pro- 
moting, favoring  or  encouraging  the  members 
of  any  medical  society  in  their  corporate  capacity 
to  form,  support  and  fix  medical  charges,  and 

92 


who  shall  be  convicted  thereof  before  the  said 
medical  society  at  an  anniversary  meeting,  to  the 
satisfaction  of  a  majority  of  the  members  present, 
shall  be  expelled  from  the  Society,  and  shall  for- 
ever after  be  debarred  from  being  received  as  a 
member  thereof. 

And  it  is  hereby  further  ordained,  that  no 
incorporate  county  medical  society  shall  fix  any 
medical  charges,  and  such  proceedings  are  hereby 
declared  to  be  discountenanced  by  this  said 
Society,  and  to  be  null  and  void  and  of  no  effect. 

And  be  it  further  ordained,  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  any  member  of  the  Society  who 
may  have  been  convicted  of  any  serious  offense 
against  the  laws  of  this  State  or  of  the  United 
States,  or  who  may  be  guilty  of  gross  immorality, 
or  who  shall  have  improper  pretensions  to  any 
specific  or  nostrum,  or  who  shall  be  repeatedly 
guilty  of  improper  conduct  in  the  duties  of  his 
profession,  or  his  behaviour  in  this  Society,  may 
be  expelled  at  an  anniversary  meeting,  upon  a 
vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  when  any  accusation  is  lodged 
with  the  president,  vice-president  or  secretary, 
of  a  nature  which  may  subject  a  member  of  this 
Society  to  expulsion,  according  to  the  last  two 
ordinances,  such  accusation  or  accusations  shall 
be  transmitted  to  the  member  accused,  and  a  day 
shall  be  fixed  at  the  anniversary  meeting  for  his 
trial,  which  shall  be  fair  and  impartial ;  and  the 
verdict  of  the  member  on  such  trial  shall  be 
delivered  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Society  after 
the  trial. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  all  ex-members  of  this  Society 
shall  be  honorary  members  thereof ;  and  that  the 
governor  and  lieutenant-governor  of  the  State, 
the  chancellor  and  judges  of  the  supreme  court 
for  the  time  being,  shall  be  ex-officio  members  of 
this  said  Society ;  and  all  persons  of  distinguished 

93 


literary  talents  who  may  be  proposed  as  honorary 
members  of  this  Society,  must  be  nominated  at  an 
anniversar}^  meeting,  and  shall  not  be  elected 
before  the  next  succeeding  anniversary  meeting, 
which  shall  be  done  by  ballot ;  and  there  shall  not 
be  more  than  two  honorary  members  elected  in 
any  one  year. 

And  be  it  further  ordained,  that  all  honorary 
members  shall  have  all  the  power  of  ordinary 
members,  except  they  shall  not  vote  on  any  ques- 
tion, nor  be  eligible  to  any  office  in  the  said 
Society,  and  a  majority  of  votes  shall  admit  an 
honorary  member. 

And  be  it  further  ordained  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  that  any  county  medical  society  who 
shall  neglect  to  perform  all  such  acts  as  may  be 
required  to  be  done  by  them,  by  the  law  incor- 
porating medical  societies,  or  any  other  law  in 
the  State  relative  to  the  science  of  medicine,  or 
who  shall  do  any  acts  which  shall  be  considered 
derogatory  to  the  honor  of  the  medical  profession, 
or  who  shall  oppose  or  neglect  to  comply  with  the 
by-laws  of  the  said  Society,  every  such  county 
medical  society  shall  be  admonished  touching  any 
such  proceeding ;  and  if  it  be  deemed  necessary  for 
the  public  good,  that  from  the  improper  conduct 
of  any  such  county  medical  society,  their  corpor- 
ate rights  should  for  a  time  be  suspended,  then 
and  in  such  case  it  should  be  lawful  and  just  for 
this  said  Society,  to  make  application  to  the 
honorable  the  Legislature  for  such  purpose. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

EARLY   PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESSES. 

The  first  presidential  address  delivered  before 
the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
by  Dr.  Wm.  McClelland,  if  there  really  was  a 
formal  annual  address  prepared  for  the  second 
meeting,  has  not  been  preserved.  The  earliest  an- 
nual address  is  that  of  Dr.  Nicholas  Romayne, 

94 


the  second  President,  at  the  Society's  third  meet- 
ing in  February,  1809.  It  is  possible  that  this 
was  the  first  formal  presidential  address,  and 
as  such  it  deserves  a  place  in  the  Society's  history. 
The  second  and  third  addresses,  delivered  by  Dr. 
Romayne,  have  also  been  deemed  worthy  of  re- 
print, because  they  give  an  excellent  idea  of  the 
development  of  the  scope  and  usefulness  of  the 
Society  as  it  appealed  to  men  of  intelligence  and 
practical  ability  one  hundred  years  ago.  The  sec- 
ond address  serves  to  show  how  much  Dr. 
Romayne  himself  had  realized  the  Society's  pos- 
sibilities during  his  year's  experience  as  its  Presi- 
dent. The  third  address  has  not  been,  so  far  as 
I  know,  hitherto  reprinted  from  the  early  trans- 
actions, which  are  very  rare  and  difficult  to  obtain. 

ANNIVERSARY   ADDRESS   TO   THE   MEDICAL 
SOCIETY   OF  THE  STATE. 

(Delivered  by  Nicholas  Romayne,  the  second  Tuesday  of 
February,   1809.) 

Gentlemen  : 

In  obedience  to  the  ordinances  of  this  Society,  it  is 
made  my  duty  at  this  time  to  address  you. 

The  statute  "enacted  on  the  4th  of  April,  1806,  to 
incorporate  Medical  Societies  for  the  purpose  of  regu- 
lating the  practice  of  Physic  and  Surgery,"  marks  a 
new  era  in  the  progress  of  science  in  the  State.  The 
Legislature  has  evinced  a  confidence  in  the  Medical 
Profession,  that  the  powers  with  which  it  is  invested 
will  be  exercised  with  moderation  and  justice,  and  that 
new  efforts  will  be  made  to  promote  the  knowledge  of 
the  healing  art  and  to  extend  its  usefulness. 

The  history  of  all  the  learned  professions  proves  that 
none  of  them  becomes  extensively  useful  or  respectable, 
except  under  the  immediate  restraint  of  its  own  mem- 
bers. It  is  the  well-informed  Physician  or  Surgeon  who 
must  be  the  proper  judge  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  the 
medical  profession  and  of  the  qualifications  and  fitness 
of  those  who  can  be  entrusted  to  exercise  the  same  with 
safety  and  advantage  to  the  public.  It  is  such  char- 
acters alone  who  are  capable  of  guarding  the  community 
against  that  propensity  of  the  human  mind  to  credulity 
and  the  marvelous,  which  subjects  a  portion  of  man- 
kind to  the  empire  of  ignorant  and  enthusiastic  pre- 
tenders. 

People    in    general    must    always    be    imperfectly    in- 

95 


formed  in  that  special  body  of  useful  knowledge  which 
distinguishes  any  one  of  the  learned  professions.  If 
men  are  most  liable  to  error  and  deception  in  their 
opinions  on  medical  subjects,  it  must  be  considered 
that  the  healing  art  embraces  an  extensive  range  of 
objects,  and  that  to  comprehend  its  principles  requires  a 
more  sound  appeal  to  the  understanding  and  judgment 
than  is  commonly  possessed. 

Every  community  does  honor  to  itself  which  treats 
with  liberality  men  conspicuous  in  the  learned  profes- 
sions for  their  genius  and  talents.  It  is  only  among  an 
illiterate  people  that  they  become  the  subjects  of  jeal- 
ousy and  persecution.  Where  ignorance  and  prejudice 
abound  there  empiricism  is  maintained ;  and  as  the 
genial  influence  of  science  and  human  improvement 
prevail,  quackery  and  every  kind  of  imposition  diminish. 

The  successful  practice  of  rational  medicine  is  so 
much  connected  with  an  improved  state  of  society  that 
physicians  are  interested  in  becoming  the  patrons  of 
the  arts  and  sciences  and  all  the  various  branches  of 
education.  The  success  which  has  attended  the  exer- 
tions of  medical  men  in  these  particulars,  especially  in 
France,  England  and  Germany,  is  conspicuous,  and  has 
been  honorably  acknowledged  by  those  nations. 

You,  gentlemen,  in  the  early  establishment  of  this 
Society,  have  manifested  a  laudable  disposition  to  favor 
the  progress  of  Science.  The  members  of  this  institu- 
tion have  been  directed  by  the  by-laws  to  scientific  re- 
searches. Literary  premiums  have  been  offered  for  the 
last  year  to  invite  investigations  on  the  topography, 
geology  and  mineralogy  of  the  different  counties  of  this 
commonwealth  and  on  the  nature  and  cure  of  those 
malignant  fevers  which  have  often  had  such  fatal  effects 
on  our  people ;  nor  have  the  good  effects  of  these  exer- 
tions of  this  Society  been  unpromising  or  unworthy  of 
notice.  Some  communications  have  already  been  made, 
which,  when  the  circumstances  of  this  Society  will  per- 
mit them  to  be  presented  to  the  public,  may  not  be 
found  uninteresting  to  the  legislator,  the  patriot,  or  the 
friend  of  science. 

The  Society  will  no  doubt  continue  to  encourage  such 
extensive  researches  and  investigations,  as  by  their 
happy  result  may  add  to  the  growing  importance  of  the 
State.  In  a  new  and  interesting  country  the  resources 
and  riches  of  which  are  not  yet  unfolded,  and  the  effects 
of  its  varied  climate  on  the  human  constitution,  as  yet 
but  imperfectly  examined,  ample  rewards  must  attend 
the  labors  of  ingenious  men,  if  judicially  directed. 

The  science  of  medicine  embraces  the  study  and 
knowledge  of  nature  and  of  those  arts  which  are  con- 
ducive to  the  subsistence,  comfort  and  convenience  of 
man.     To  fulfill  our  duties  to  the  public  the   Society 

96 


will  consider  it  useful  to  examine  the  various  vegetable 
productions  of  the  State,  to  ascertain  their  medicinal 
powers  or  useful  qualities,  and  to  examine  the  fitness  of 
the  soil  and  climate  for  the  reception  of  exotic  plants. 
The  territories  of  the  United  States,  extending  from 
the  borders  of  Canada  to  the  northern  boundaries  of 
Mexico,  contain  such  variety  of  soil  and  climate,  as  seem 
calculated  for  the  cultivation  of  all  the  medicinal  plants 
and  for  the  support  of  the  different  species  of  animals 
which  inhabit  the  globe.  It  is  not  many  years  since 
indigo,  rice  and  cotton  plants  were  introduced  into  the 
Southern  States,  and  the  merino  sheep,  lately  brought 
from  Spain,  promise  to  furnish  clothing  and  afford 
wealth  to  our  people.  Nor  will  you  be  inattentive  to 
encourage  an  examination  of  the  mineral  productions 
of  the  country  as  a  source  from  which  many  medicines 
may  be  obtained,  and  as  furnishing  important  requisites 
for  public  defence  and  national  independence. 

The  waters  of  the  ocean  which  wash  the  Southern 
District  of  the  State  are  as  strongly  impregnated  with 
sea  salt  as  those  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  from  which  such 
quantities  of  salt  are  made  in  France.  By  establishing 
salt  works  on  Long  Island  sufficient  quantities  of  salt 
might  be  made  to  supply  the  United  States. 

The  late  worthy  Mr.  Solomon  Simpson,  of  the  City  of 
New  York,  possessed  valuable  specimens  of  silver  ores 
from  the  mines  in  the  country  of  West  Chester.  In  the 
middle  district  of  the  State  there  are  several  valuable 
mines.  Besides  those  of  iron,  there  are  mines  of  man- 
ganese, and  from  the  specimens  which  have  been  ob- 
tained, probably  also  of  antimony. 

The  eastern  district  not  only  furnishes  great  quan- 
tities of  iron  ore,  but  the  mineral  springs  with  which  it 
abounds  prove  the  existence  of  subterraneous  bodies 
which  are  constantly  subject  to  chemical  changes. 

In  the  western  district  the  valuable  saline  springs 
evidence  the  probable  existence  of  large  bodies  of  solid 
salt  at  no  great  distance  from  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
as  the  waters  seem  equally  impregnated  with  salt  in  dry 
or  rainy  seasons.  Valuable  iron  ores  and  large  bodies 
of  plaster  of  paris  or  sulphate  of  lime  are  found  in  this 
district.  The  Sulphur  Springs,  near  the  Seneca  Lake, 
show  the  probable  existence  of  masses  of  that  mineral 
substance  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  In  these  waters 
the  sulphur  is  kept  in  solution  by  a  portion  of  com- 
pound salt  and  an  extra  portion  of  sulphuric  acid  which 
abounds  in  the  depositions  of  the  sulphur. 

The  coal  mines,  which  exist  in  Louisburgh  and 
Rhode  Island,  in  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  render  it 
probable  that  there  are  connecting  strata  of  coal  through 
this  commonwealth  and  which  may  be  the  subject  of 
future  discovery. 

7  97 


The  ingenious  and  observing  in  the  medical  profession 
will  not  be  inattentive  to  those  facts  which  may  con- 
tribute to  elucidate  the  origin,  nature  and  cure  of  those 
malignant  fevers  which  have  raged  as  a  pestilence  in 
manj'  parts  of  the  State,  and  for  which  experience  has 
yet  afforded  no  settled  mode  of  cure. 

While  the  subjects  for  medical  and  scientific  research 
are  thus  extensive,  it  must  afford  you,  gentlemen,  much 
satisfaction  to  reflect  on  the  progress  of  professional 
knowledge  in  the  public  seminaries  of  the  United  States. 
In  the  Colleges  and  Academies  of  the  University  of  this 
State  the  number  of  students  of  Medicine  exceed  one 
hundred.  In  the  University  of  Cambridge,  in  Massa- 
chusetts, the  students  pursuing  medical  studies  are 
sixty.  At  Dartmouth  College,  in  New  Hampshire,  the 
medical  students  are  upwards  of  sevent}', '  and  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  there  are  upwards  of  three 
hundred,  besides  the  students  in  the  JNIedical  College  of 
Maryland.  Professor  Silliman,  of  Yale  College,  has 
now  a  class  of  one  hundred  students  attending  his  in- 
structions on  Chemistry. 

Though  the  nations  of  Europe  are  engaged  in  san- 
guinary wars,  yet  at  no  period  have  her  philosophers 
been  more  successful  in  brilliant  discoveries.  During 
the  last  year  Mr.  Davy,  the  professor  of  chemistry  in 
the  Royal  Institution  at  London,  pursuing  a  train  of  in- 
genious investigations,  has  made  some  of  the  most 
important  discoveries  of  which  modern  times  can  boast, 
or  which  have  been  presented  to  the  world  since  the 
days  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton. 

This  indefatigable  inquirer  found,  by  a  series  of  ex- 
periments on  the  alkalies,  potash  and  soda,  that  they 
were  convertible  by  certain  processes  into  metallic  sub- 
stances and  which  he  called  potassium  and  sodium, 
and  of  which  these  alkalies  are  the  bases. 

In  examining  the  properties  of  the  new  metals,  Mr. 
Davy  experienced  difficulties  from  their  violent  attrac- 
tion for  the  constituent  parts  of  almost  all  substances. 
If,  however,  covered  with  a  thin  transparent  film  of 
newly  distilled  naphtha,  by  which  they  are  defended 
from  the  air,  their  physical  qualities  can  be  accurately 
examined.  The  metal  of  potash  resembles  mercury  in 
its  appearance.  At  the  temperature  of  sixty  degrees,  it 
is  less  fluid  than  mercury ;  at  one  hundred  degrees  its 
fluidity  is  perfect ;  at  fifty  degrees  it  is  malleable,  and  at 
thirty-two  degrees  it  is  crystallized. 

The  experiments  of  Mr.  Davy  have  been  repeated  by 
the  French  philosophers  with  perfect  success.  Struck 
with  the  wonderful  discoveries  of  this  gentleman,  the 
Emperor  of  France  has  awarded  him  a  munificent 
present. 

The  discoveries  of  Mr.  Davy  have  invited  with  sue- 


cess  the  attention  of  the  Swedish  chemists.  The  French 
and  English  chemists  have  also  discovered  metals  of 
lime,  barytes  and  of  magnesia.  They  have  also  suc- 
ceeded in  proving  the  metallic  nature  of  ammonia,  and 
rendered  it  probable  that  the  very  air  we  breathe  con- 
tains metal  in  a  gaseous  form. 

Though  these  brilliant  discoveries  have  been  made  by 
the  philosophers  of  Europe,  yet  the  lovers  of  science  and 
the  arts  in  the  United  States  have  not  been  inattentive 
to  a  variety  of  useful  improvements  and  interesting 
discoveries.  Such,  indeed,  is  the  progress  of  our  people 
in  agriculture,  manufactures  and  the  useful  arts,  as  to 
invite  the  respect  of  the  civilized  world. 

Dr.  Romayne  having  been  re-elected  President 
of  the  State  Society,  dehvered  at  the  annual 
meeting  in  1810  the  following  address: 

Gentlemen  : 

In  addressing  you,  at  this  Anniversary  Meeting,  as 
Members  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State,  I  cannot 
be  insensible  to  the  respectful  consideration  you  merit 
from  the  community.  Settled  in  the  different  Counties 
of  this  extensive  State,  enjoying  domestic  comforts, 
and  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  professional 
employments,  you  subject  yourselves  to  inconveniences; 
you  submit  to  the  loss  of  private  emoluments,  to  meet 
at  this  place,  in  social  harmony  and  concert  to  exercise 
the  duties  confided  to  you  by  law ;  to  superintend  the 
regulation  of  the  Medical  Profession  in  the  State,  and 
to  favor  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  of  the  Healing  Art. 

Nor  are  these  powers  confided  to  you  by  the  Legisla- 
ture, of  small  importance  to  the  public.  If  the  useful- 
ness of  the  Healing  Art  be  admitted,  the  necessity  of 
regulating  that  profession  must  be  obvious.  However 
difficult  be  the  task  to  perform,  yet  it  is  to  your  wise 
and  salutary  regulations  that  the  public  must  resort  for 
advice  against  the  frauds  of  ignorant  and  designing 
pretenders.  It  is  by  your  regulations  that  the  com- 
munity must  be  guarded  against  professional  injustice 
or  hardships ;  and  it  is  under  your  authority  and  by 
your  example  that  the  practitioners  of  the  Healing  Art 
in  this  State  must,  by  the  fulfilling  their  respective 
duties,  and  extending  their  usefulness,  obtain  the 
respect  of  the  people,  and  thus  an  honorable  considera- 
tion for  our  profession. 

The  Statute  of  the  4th  of  April,  1806,  contains  many 
wise  provisions  for  the  regulation  of  the  practice  of 
Physic  and  Surgery  in  the  State,  and  for  improving 
the  condition  and  extending  the  usefulness  of  the 
Medical  Profession.  The  practitioners  of  Medicine, 
lawfully    exercising    their    profession,    in    the    several 

99 


Counties  of  this  State,  were  by  that  law  permitted  to 
associate  themselves  in  incorporated  societies,  and  each 
of  them  were  directed  to  elect  a  Member  to  form  this 
central  Society  of  the  State,  which  is  invested  with  a 
controlling  power,  by  virtue  of  their  Bye-Laws,  over 
the  transactions  of  the  County  Societies. 

Wholesome  regulations  for  these  purposes  must  be 
self-evident.  Mankind  are  not  fitted  suddenly,  but  by 
slow  degrees,  for  the  privileges  of  self-government; 
and  the  perfection  of  human  regulations  must  be  the 
result  of  exnerience  and  reflection.  It  is  not  twenty 
years  since  a  law  was  first  enacted  to  authorize  the 
Magistrates  to  require  qualifications  from  those  whom 
they  might  nrivilege  to  practice  Physic  and  Surgery 
throughout  the  State.  The  professional  rights  and 
immunities  which  are  now  invested  in  the  incorporated 
Medical  Societies  will,  no  doubt,  be  exercised  with  cir- 
cumspection, and  in  the  progress  of  their  transactions, 
will  manifest  those  useful  regulations  which  may  be 
conclusive  of  the  justice  and  policy  of  their  establish- 
ment. 

The  duties,  however,  of  this  Society,  when  consid- 
ered in  all  the  various  relations  to  the  County  Societies 
and  community  at  large,  are  highly  important.  To 
execute  them  happily  and  with  most  advantage  to  the 
public,  must  require  from  you  much  circumspection  and 
serious  reflection;  and  it  will  be  a  subject  for  your 
consideration,  whether  this  Society  may  not  be  use- 
fully aided  in  their  deliberations  by  the  salutary  coun- 
sels of  some  of  those  gentlemen  who  are  most  con- 
spicuous in  the  State  for  their  liberality  and  Medical 
knowledge. 

Certainly,  to  give  stability  to  this  Society,  and  a 
requisite  degree  of  independence,  are  essential  to  enable 
it  to  perform  with  justice,  the  respective  duties  expected 
by  the  public.  And  no  doubt,  whatever,  for  this  pur- 
pose, may  be  suggested,  by  the  wisdom  of  j'our  delibera- 
tions, will  be  confirmed  by  Legislative  authority. 

In  the  progress  of  the  proceedings  of  this  Society, 
some  attention  has  been  paid  to  devise  means  for  the 
prevention  of  those  frauds  which  are  often  practiced 
on  the  community  by  ignorant  and  designing  pretenders 
in  Medicine.  But  this  subject,  when  attentively  con- 
sidered, has  always  been  involved  in  difficulties  so 
extensive,  that  a  remedy  has  hardly  been  found  for  the 
evil. 

At  a  former  session  of  the  Legislature  a  law  was 
passed,  which  debarred  those  who  were  not  lawfully 
authorized  to  practice  Physic  and  Surgery,  from  recov- 
ering, by  legal  process,  any  compensation  for  their  ser- 
vices or  remedies.  Perhaps  the  provisions  of  this  law 
went   as    far   as   Legislative   power   can   be   wisely   ex- 


tended.  Whenever  it  has  exceeded  these  bounds,  the 
people  have  too  commonly  considered  the  power  of  the 
law  as  favouring  of  persecution,  and  instead  of  dimin- 
ishing the  mischiefs  of  quackery,  they  have  been  in- 
creased. The  propensity  to  empiricism  is,  in  some 
measure,  connected  with  the  constitution  of  the  human 
mind,  and  induces  men,  when  labouring  under  disease, 
to  look  to  delusive  sources  for  relief.  Nor  are  persons 
capable  of  correctly  judging  for  themselves,  when  tor- 
tured by  pain,  or  distressed  by  affliction. 

Though  the  evils  of  quackery  seem  so  difficultly  pre- 
vented by  Legislative  power,  yet  it  is  always  remedied 
by  the  influence  of  public  opinion,  which  becomes  more 
imposing,  as  the  state  of  society  is  cultivated  and 
improved.  When  Practitioners  of  Medicine  are  diligent 
and  judicious  in  the  exercise  of  their  professions,  they 
manifest  to  men  of  any  discernment,  their  superior  skill 
and  success  in  the  cure  of  diseases ;  and  will  show,  in  a 
striking  point  of  view,  the  difference  between  the  well 
educated  Physician  and  Surgeon,  and  the  mere  pre- 
tender to  professional  knowledge. 

It  may  also  be  remarked  that  Physicians  have  not 
been  sufficiently  attentive  to  correcting  certain  opinions, 
which  commonly  prevail  in  communities,  respecting 
Scientific  Virtues  and  an  Universal  Remedy.  With 
little  trouble  or  address,  it  would  be  easy  to  satisfy  the 
meanest  capacities,  that  such  is  the  difference  of  con- 
stitutions and  habits  among  men,  that  what  would  be 
useful  to  one  person,  might  be  prejudicial  to  another; 
that  what  would  be  proper  in  one  stage  of  a  disease, 
might  have  deleterious  effects  in  another;  that  the 
best  and  most  valuable  Medicines  only  prove  remedies 
when  they  are  administered  properly,  and  under 
favourable  circumstances ;  and  that  the  knowledge  of 
their  successful  application  must  be  acquired  from 
accurate  conceptions  of  the  philosophy  of  the  human 
body,  of  the  laws  of  health,  and  of  morbid  actions  under 
disease.  As  the  progress  of  Medical  knowledge  is  more 
evident,  our  ideas  of  Specific  Remedies,  and  of  their 
fallacy  become  more  correct ;  and  it  is  fact,  generally 
admitted,  that  the  efficacy  of  all  secret  medicines,  and 
their  wonderful  powers,  are  lost,  as  soon  as  the  nature 
of  the  article  be  made  public. 

I  shall  not  contend  how  secret  medicines  may  operate 
on  the  mind,  and  influence  the  actions  of  the  body,  nor 
dwell  on  the  incorrectness  of  our  passions,  and  opinions, 
when  not  restrained  by  the  power  of  reason. 

In  forming  the  ordinances  of  this  Society,  you  have 
not  been  unmindful  of  the  interest  of  the  public,  and 
your  own  professional  dignity.  You  have  prohibited 
the  Medical  Societies,  in  their  corporate  capacities, 
from  fixing  or  regulating  medical  charges.     Careful  in 


supporting  the  respect  of  the  Medical  Profession,  you 
have  been  attentive  to  regulate  transactions  v^^hich 
might  injure  it  in  public  opinion. 

While  you  have  admitted  the  propriety  of  reasonable 
compensation,  to  be  obtained  for  professional  services, 
you  have  been  sensible  that  no  general  regulations 
could  be  made  to  apply  without  manifest  injustice.  In 
the  Medical,  as  well  as  in  the  other  liberal  professions, 
there  must  be  difference  of  qualification,  arising  from 
age  and  experience,  from  different  opportunities  of  edu- 
cation, and  from  genius  and  talents.  Again,  in  the 
community  we  observe  the  various  conditions  of  men, 
from  the  extremes  of  poverty  and  wretchedness,  to  that 
of  wealth  and  luxury.  In  diseases,  even  of  the  saine 
genus,  we  observe  a  difference  in  their  nature  in  dif- 
ferent persons ;  the  one  requiring  serious  attention  and 
study,  while  the  other  imposes  on  the  mind  no  difficul- 
ties. To  exact  much  professional  compensation  from 
those  in  contracted  circumstances,  might  be  oppressive ; 
and  not  to  require  ample  reward  from  those,  who 
abound  in  wealth,  would  be  injustice  to  the  profession. 

Medicine  has  long  been  considered  one  of  the  liberal 
professions,  in  which  services  were  to  be  compensated 
by  the  munificence  of  the  public,  not  by  arbitrary  exac- 
tions or  legal  demands,  which,  in  the  professions,  are 
always  odious  to  the  people.  It  was  by  conduct  truly 
liberal  that,  in  early  ages,  the  Medical  character  was 
often  considered  in  the  exalted  point  of  view.  In  the 
Scriptures,  the  character  of  the  Physician  is  often  men- 
tioned with  respectful  consideration.  Hippocrates  re- 
jected all  the  wealth  and  honour  which  the  Persian 
monarch  had  to  bestow,  and  refused  him  his  medical 
aid,  because  he  was  the  enemy  of  his  Countrymen,  the 
Greeks.  In  Modern  Europe,  wherever  the  Medical 
Profession  is  respectable,  professional  services  are 
liberally  rewarded  by  voluntary  compensations. 

Hitherto,  in  the  United  States,  the  Medical  profes- 
sion has  been  placed  on  the  footing  of  the  mechanic 
arts ;  and  the  Courts  of  Justice  have  allowed  compen- 
sations for  Medical  services  upon  the  common  principles 
of  a  quantum  meruit.  But  it  would  be  injustice  in  us 
to  suppose  that  our  countrymen,  who  are  so  conspicu- 
ous for  their  liberality  and  enlightened  views,  who 
form  now  one  of  the  richest  communities  in  the  civi- 
lized world,  would  be  wanting  in  justice  to  the  Medical 
profession,  if  the  principles  upon  which  compensation 
should  be  expected,  were  explained  or  generally  under- 
stood. Changes  from  former  habits  can  only  be  grad- 
ually effected;  but  that  justice  which  the  profession 
has  a  right  to  demand,  it  is  confidently  hoped,  will  in 
time  be  liberally  yielded. 

These   expectations,   may  be  the   more   readily  cher- 


ished,  from  the  favourable  impression  which  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Medical  Societies,  have  made  on  the 
public  mind.  You  cannot  be  uninformed  of  the  satis- 
faction, that  has  been  expressed,  on  different  occasions, 
by  numbers  of  our  respectable  citizens,  that  those  to 
whom  they  confided  the  preservation  of  their  health, 
should  meet  together  in  social  harmony,  to  improve 
their  profession,  and  extend  the  knowledge  of  the 
healing  art. 

To  aid  the  progress  of  professional  improvements, 
the  regular  publication  of  an  abridgement  of  your  Jour- 
nals may  have  a  useful  effect.  The  liberality  with  which 
your  proceedings  have  been  hitherto  conducted,  cannot 
fail  of  giving  importance  to  this  Institution,  and  favour- 
ing the  confidence  of  the  public  in  your  exertions. — 
[Passage  of  non-medical  interest  omitted. — Ed.] 

Every  circumstance  connected  with  the  new  Institu- 
tion which  contributes  to  the  success  of  the  establish- 
ment, merits  attention.  Though  the  minds  of  the  people 
of  this  State  are  often  agitated,  from  political  zeal,  and 
party  considerations,  and  of  which  you,  as  members  of 
the  community,  must  more  or  less  partake ;  yet  it  must 
be  mentioned  to  the  honour  of  this  Society,  that  its 
members  have  always  kept  in  view,  that  the  Common- 
wealth of  Science  is  of  no  party,  that  it  cherishes  a 
spirit  of  universal  benevolence  and  improvement,  and 
that  it  favours  a  liberal  intercourse  among  men,  that 
it  indeed  consecrates  the  fraternity  of  the  great  family 
of  mankind.  Thus  when  our  countryman.  Dr.  Franklin, 
who  disarmed  the  clouds  of  thunder  and  taught  light- 
ning to  play  harmless  about  our  feet,  the  discovery  was 
made  for  the  benefit  of  all  nations.  So  the  great 
family  of  mankind  are  daily  enjoying  the  improvements 
of  our  countryman,  the  Count  Rumford,  in  domestic 
economy.  And  among  foreign  nations,  can  you  view 
Jenner,  who  taught  us  to  elude  a  loathsome,  and  often 
fatal,  disease,  the  Small  Pox,  but  as  the  friend  of 
human  kind?  Can  you  consider  Davy,  whose  brilliant 
discoveries  and  laborious  researches  do  honour  to  the 
age  in  which  we  live,  but  as  a  brother,  engaged  in  the 
fields  of  science,  and  exploring  and  unfolding  the 
hidden  combinations  of  matter.  And  are  not  the  phil- 
osophers of  France,  Germany,  and  other  parts  of  the 
world,  whose  labours  and  genius  are  engaged  in  ex- 
tending human  happiness  and  exalting  our  nature,  part 
of  yourselves?  Are  you  not  encouraged  by  their  high 
example  to  diligent  investigation  and  attentive  research, 
to  afford  some  addition  to  the  stock  of  human  knowl- 
edge, and  to  view  as  unworthy  of  your  notice,  the  bick- 
erings of  partv,  or  the  cries  of  public  animosity? 

While  you  must  reflect,  with  much  satisfaction,  on 
the  principles  of  justice  and  moderation  by  which  you 

103 


have  been  influenced  in  constituting  this  Society,  as 
well  as  in  the  progress  of  your  proceedings,  the  instruc- 
tive example  of  your  conduct,  will  teach  your  suc- 
cessors, that  the  temple  of  science  was  viewed  by  you, 
as  that  of  peace,  and  that  its  tranquility  could  not  be 
disturbed,  without  aiming  at  the  destruction  of  the  only 
remnant  of  the  Divine  origin,  which  bad  passions,  have 
left  in  the  character,  and  conduct  of  men. 

This  Society  has  not  only  taken  a  lively  interest,  in 
whatever  has  tended  to  promote  the  diffusion  of  Med- 
ical knowledge,  but  has  given  excitement  to  those 
efforts,  which  are  making  to  cherish  education  through- 
out the  State ;  and  it  must  afford  the  highest  satisfac- 
tion to  every  member  of  this  Institution,  that  the  result 
has  been  so  favourable  to  Science.  The  City  of  New- 
York,  at  present,  affords  a  greater  number  of  Students 
of  Medicine  than  at  any  former  period ;  and  they  mani- 
fest a  zeal  in  their  application,  which  promises  the 
happiest  success.  The  Trustees  of  the  Academy  at 
Fairfield,  in  the  County  of  Herkimer,  with  generous 
sentiments  toward  the  Medical  Profession,  have  af- 
forded their  patronage  to  two  Professors,  who  are 
engaged  with  zeal,  and  assiduity,  in  teaching  some  of 
the  branches  of  medicine. 

The  Botanic  Garden  in  the  City  of  New- York, 
founded  by  Dr.  Hosack,  continues  to  be  cherished  by 
that  indefatigable  Botanist,  and  enriched  by  additions  of 
domestic  and  exotic  plants.  In  a  short  time  there  will 
be  here  collected,  under  one  view,  all  those  plants, 
which  are  used  by  the  native  Indians  for  Medicinal 
purposes.  The  usefulness  of  this  establishment  has 
been  already  the  subject  of  your  investigation,  and  you 
have  generously  recommended  it  to  the  patronage  of 
the  Honourable  the  Legislature. 

Dr.  Bruce,  Professor  of  Mineralogy  in  the  University 
of  this  State,  is  now  engaged  in  publishing  a  mineralog- 
ical  journal,  which  will  be  a  periodical  work,  and  prom- 
ises to  be  of  national  importance.  This  publication  will, 
no  doubt,  merit  the  paronage  of  this  Society,  and  will  in- 
duce the  respective  members  to  enrich  it  with  the  result 
of  their  investigations  of  the  mineral  kingdom.  This 
journal  will  give  a  minute  account  of  the  mineral  pro- 
ductions in  the  United  States,  and  such  discoveries  as 
may  be  made  by  future  investigation.  It  will  highly 
deserve  the  notice  of  the  public  as  being  the  first  attempt 
in  this  State  to  encourage  mineralogical  researches. 

During  the  last  year.  Dr.  Mitchill.  Professor  of  Nat- 
ural History  and  Botany  in  the  University  of  this  State, 
delivered  his  courses  of  instruction  on  those  branches 
of  Science,  with  such  success,  as  to  attract  the  attention 
of  many  respectable  citizens.  These  discourses  were 
luminous    in    explaining    the    Natural    History    of    the 

104 


United  States,  and  will,  no  doubt,  contribute  to  diffuse 
a  taste  for  this  kind  of  knowledge,  and  encourage  a 
spirit  of  investigation  and  research.  The  public  have 
been  favored  with  the  outlines  of  Professor  Mitchill's 
lectures,  in  the  last  number  of  the  Medical  Repository, 
and  which  will  be  read  with  much  satisfaction  by  all 
classes  of  citizens. 

The  spirit  of  inquiry  among  the  philosophers  of 
Europe,  which  for  some  time  past  has  been  attended 
with  so  much  success,  is  continued  with  unremitting 
attention.  The  brilliant  discoveries  of  Professor  Davy, 
respecting  the  Metallic  nature  of  the  Alkalies  and  the 
Earths,  were  laid  before  the  public  last  year.  About 
four  months  ago,  this  ingenious  inquirer,  stated  at  the 
New  Institute  in  London,  as  the  result  of  analysis  and 
attentive  research,  that  of  the  palpable  substances,  there 
were  but  two  in  nature  in  an  elementary  state,  viz., 
Oxygen  and  Metal.  The  Earths  and  the  Alkalies  had 
been  demonstrated  to  be  Metallic  Oxyds,  either  by 
exhibiting  them  alone,  or  in  alloys  with  mercury  or 
other  metals.  The  inflammable  bodies,  Sulphur,  Char- 
coal, Phosphorus,  and  the  basis  of  the  Boracic  Acid 
had  all  been  decompounded,  and  yielded  metal.  Accord- 
ingly, Hydrogen  was  conjectured  to  contain  a  Metallic 
basis,  susceptible  to  eight  degrees  of  Oxygenation,  and 
by  difference  of  combination,  to  constitute  inflammable 
matter.  Alkali,  Water,  Oxyds,  and  even  Acids. 

The  facts  more  lately  developed  tend  to  subvert  the 
systems  of  Lavoisier,  and  the  French  Chemists,  which 
for  some  years  has  claimed  the  assent  of  the  Chemical 
world.  The  experiments  made  in  confirmation  of  the 
French  doctrines  were  so  specious,  that  they  were 
admitted  by  the  celebrated  Dr.  Black,  and  other  eminent 
men  in  Europe,  while  the  American  Philosophers,  Mit- 
chill  and  Priestley,  continued  to  entertain  doubts  on 
the  subject  of  those  experiments,  as  not  sufficiently  con- 
clusive, to  subvert  the  doctrines,  founded  on  the  In- 
flammable Principle,  or  Phlogiston,  of  Becker  and 
Stahl. 

While  your  attention  may  be  directed  to  whatever 
will,  in  the  remotest  degree,  improve  the  Medical  Pro- 
fession, and  extend  its  usefulness,  there  is  one  subject 
which  seriously  calls  for  your  deliberations.  A  fever 
of  a  most  malignant  nature,  appeared  a  year  or  two 
ago  in  Connecticut,  in  the  winter  season,  and  proved 
fatal  to  many  respectable  citizens.  The  reports  respect- 
ing its  nature,  makes  it  a  disease  probably  different 
from  the  Yellow  Fever,  or  the  common  Putrid  or  Ner- 
vous Fevers  of  the  Country.  This  Spotted  Fever,  as 
it  is  called,  has  appeared  within  a  few  months,  in  some 
parts  of  the  County  of  Orange,  and  has  in  many 
instances  proved  fatal.    It  may  appear  in  other  parts  of 

105 


the  State.  In  your  present  session  you  will  doubtless 
set  on  foot  such  inquiry  respecting  the  nature  and  suc- 
cessful treatment  of  this  disease,  as  may  merit  the 
attention  of  the  public.  You  have  already  offered 
premiums  to  promote  Medical  researches.  Though  the 
funds  of  the  Society  be  limited,  and  arise  from  the 
voluntary  contributions  of  its  members,  yet,  on  the 
present  occasion  it  must  redound  to  the  honour  of  this 
Institution,  to  offer  a  Prize  Medal,  for  the  best  Disser- 
tation, on  the  nature  and  cure  of  this  malignant  Spotted 
Fever. 

It  is  by  such  acts  of  disinterested  benevolence  and 
humanity,  that  the  members  of  this  Institution  will 
obtain  the  respect  of  their  Countrymen,  and  receive  the 
high  rewards  which  await  the  merciful  and  the  just. 
It  is  by  your  generous  efforts  to  arrest  the  tide  of 
pestilence,  and  relieve  the  bed  of  sorrow,  that  you  will 
merit  the  blessings  of  those  who  are  ready  to  perish. 

Dr.  Romayne  was  not  present  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Society,  held  at  the  end  of  the 
third  year  of  his  presidency.  It  is  not  surprising, 
perhaps,  that  he  should  have  been  absent  once  in 
three  years  when  we  consider  the  great  diffi- 
culties of  travel  in  those  days,  and  especially  at 
the  stormy  period  of  the  year  that  is  likely  to 
greet  the  traveler  in  early  February.  If  there  are 
those  who  consider,  now  with  all  our  traveling 
facilities,  that,  because  of  the  inclement  weather 
likely  to  be  encountered  so  frequently  at  this  sea- 
son and  which  exposes  the  traveler  to  all  sorts  of 
risks,  the  time  of  holding  the  annual  meeting 
should  be  changed  to  spring  or  autumn,  it  will 
be  easy  to  appreciate  in  how  much  worse  case 
were  these  old-time  medical  delegates. 

Dr.  Romayne  had  forwarded  his  presidential 
address  to  the  Secretary,  and  it  was  read  at  the 
meeting.  According  to  the  by-laws  of  the  time 
the  President  was  bound  under  a  fine  of  twenty- 
five  dollars  to  send  his  address  to  the  Secretary 
if  he  was  prevented  from  coming  to  the  meeting. 
After  the  reading  of  the  address  it  was  unani- 
mously voted  to  have  it  printed  in  the  Transac- 
tions, and  it  actually  appears  in  the  original 
pamphlet  form  of  the  transactions  of  these  early 
meetings. 

io6 


For  some  reason  not  easy  to  determine  now 
Dr.  Romayne's  third  anniversary  address  as 
President  was  not  included  in  the  reprint  of  the 
Transactions  of  the  early  years  of  the  Society, 
made  in  1868.  Perhaps  it  was  simply  missed, 
though  it  is  possible  that  it  was  deliberately 
omitted.  It  contains  a  certain  amount  of  medical 
polemics,  in  which  Dr.  Romayne's  own  opinion, 
always  likely  to  be  expressed  with  vigor,  has 
been  stated  very  explicitly  and  without  much 
respect  of  persons.  This  is  unfortunate  and  yet 
apparently  not  sufficient  to  make  the  suppression 
of  the  address  advisable  since  it  is  a  plain  state- 
ment of  the  other  side  of  certain  medical  inter- 
ests in  the  early  history  of  New  York  City  and  of 
New  York  medical  education,  and,  as  is  well 
known,  there  are  always  two  sides  to  such  ques- 
tions, and  the  main  duty  of  history  is  to  bring  out 
the  other  side. 

Dr.  Romayne's  address  is  undoubtedly  one  of 
the  best  sketches  of  the  history  of  medicine  in 
New  York  City  given  in  brief  that  have  come 
down  to  us  from  so  early  and  authoritative  a 
source.  If  for  no  other  reason  than  this  it  should 
be  reprinted  as  a  document  to  which  those  writ- 
ing on  the  history  of  medicine  in  New  York  may 
thus  more  easily  have  access.  The  reprint  of  the 
Transactions  gives  no  hint  of  the  omission,  and 
it  is  only  the  fact  that  Dr.  Samuel  Purple,  in  his 
copy  of  the  reprinted  Transactions,  now  in  the 
Hbrary  of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine, 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  at  the  place  where  the 
address  should  be,  and  refers  the  historical  stu- 
dent to  his  original  edition  of  the  early  Transac- 
tions for  Dr.  Romayne's  address  that  has  called 
attention  to  it. 

Besides  New  York  medicine,  however.  Dr. 
Romayne's  third  presidential  address  has  an  ex- 
cellent summary  of  the  progress  of  medical  edu- 
cation in  modern  times,  which,  while  it  is  not 
correct  in  all  its  details,  is  eminently  suggestive, 

107 


and  the  errors  in  it  are  not  mistakes,  but  are  due 
to  the  lack  of  information  with  reg^ard  to  the 
history  of  medical  education  at  the  time.  On  the 
whole,  perhaps,  the  best  notion  of  the  entire 
subject  of  medical  education  can  be  obtained  more 
easily  from  it  than  from  many  more  lengthy  de- 
scriptions. There  is  a  striking  tribute  to  Phila- 
delphia and  to  Benjamin  Franklin  in  the  history 
of  medicine  and  of  medical  education  which 
may  seem  surprising  in  the  mouth  of  a 
New  Yorker  until  it  is  remembered  that 
Dr.  Romayne  made  some  of  his  medical 
studies  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and 
naturally  looked  back  with  kindly  feeling  to  his 
Alma  Mater, 

ANNIVERSARY   ADDRESS   TO   THE   MEDICAL 
SOCIETY  OF  THE  STATE. 

(By  Nicholas  Romayne,  read  by  the  Secretary  at  the  Annual 
Meeting  of  1812.) 

Gentlemen  : 

The  constitutional  period  having  arrived,  which  ter- 
minates my  appointment  as  one  of  the  Members  of  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  State,  I  proceed  to  execute  my 
last  duties  by  delivering  the  Anniversary  Address. 

On  this  occasion  I  am  impressed  with  those  feelings, 
which  must  naturally  arise  in  being  separated  from 
enlightened  Brethren,  whose  zeal  to  improve  the  heal- 
ing art,  to  favour  the  progress  of  Medical  Education, 
and  to  protect  the  people  from  professional  impositions, 
I  have  so  amply  witnessed.  If  the  office  you  have 
assigned  me  in  this  Institution,  has  aflForded  me  more 
opportunities  than  other  individuals  to  observe  your 
disinterested  patriotism  and  zeal  to  serve  the  community 
in  some  of  its  essential  concerns ;  it  inspires  me  with 
the  fullest  confidence,  that  you  will  not  cease  from  your 
labours  to  improve  your  profession,  and  protect  the 
general  interests  of  Medical  Literature  in  the  State. 

Your  faithful  exertions  for  the  public  benefit,  and 
the  honour  of  the  Medical  Character  have  gained  you 
much  public  confidence.  You  are  viewed  as  the  guar- 
dians of  a  profession  highly  important  to  the  com- 
munity; which  is  directed  to  relieve  the  sick,  and  to 
distribute  health,  and  becomes  of  advantage  or  detri- 
ment to  society  according  as  it  is  judiciously  or  improp- 
erly exercised. 

As  the  patrons,  therefore,  of  the  healing  art;    as  my 


fellow  members  of  this  Medical  Society,  ardent  to  fulfil 
the  duties  confided  to  you  by  law;  I  entreat  your  in- 
dulgence, while  I  lay  before  you  some  reflections  con- 
nected with  the  former  and  present  condition  of  the 
Medical  Profession  in  this  State;  that  where  errors 
prevail,  your  exertions  may  be  employed  to  eradicate 
or  correct  them;  and  that  not  unmindful  of  your  obli- 
gations to  the  public,  and  the  confidence  reposed  in 
you,  you  may  cherish  what  is  just,  and  patronize  what 
contributes  to  public  benefit. 

From  whatever  causes  our  ancestors  were  influenced 
to  embark  from  Europe  to  settle  and  possess  the  pres- 
ent territories  of  these  United  States,  they  left  the 
shores  of  their  native  land  with  the  strongest  preju- 
dices in  favor  of  their  own  received  opinions,  and 
transported  with  themselves  the  habits,  customs  and 
manners  of  the  countries  they  had  abandoned.  These 
have  been  retained  by  their  descendents  with  wonderful 
constancy.* 

The  condition,  then,  of  the  Medical  Profession  in  the 
early  settlement  of  this,  and  other  Americaii  States, 
must  have  corresponded  in  some  measure  with  what 
existed  in  the  countries  the  emigrants  had  left,  and 
may  be  best  elucidated  by  a  review  of  the  State  of 
Medicine  at  that  period  in  the  countries  of  Europe 
which  had  been  the  place  of  their  residence. 

The  generous  eflForts  of  the  Clergy  to  restore  learning 
after  the  dark  ages,  were  not  confined  to  what  related 
to  Divinity,  but  were  extended  both  to  Medicine  and  to 
Law.  In  their  Colleges  and  Seminaries,  some  of  their 
order  attended  more  particularly  to  Medicine,  and  the 
study  of  the  Roman  Law.  Hence  arose  the  divisions  of 
the  different  faculties  in  their  Literary  Institutions. 
But  an  order  of  men  who  then  possessed  all  the  learn- 
ing, and  soon  after,  almost  all  the  wealth  and  power  of 
Europe,  would  not  condescend  to  what  they  supposed 
derogatory,  and  in  comparison  to  their  high  considera- 
tion, somewhat  menial  employments.  Hence  became 
necessary  the  attornies,  procurators,  and  notaries  in  the 
law,  and  the  apothecaries  and  surgeons  in  medicine. 

In  these  Monkish  Colleges,  the  medical  writings  of 
the  Greeks,  Romans  and  Arabians  were  studied,  and 
viewed  with  so  much  solemnity  that  no  prescription  for 
the  sick  could  be  maintained,  unless  supported  by 
ancient  authority.  Such  of  the  students  as  were  com- 
petent to  explain  the  ancient  authorities  in  medicine 
were,  under  certain  circumstances,  denominated  Doc- 
tors, or  Teachers,  and  were  allowed  to  practice  Physic 


•In  some  parts  of  the  Eastern  States,  the  people  still  retain 
the  manners  and  habits  of  the  age  of  Cromwell.  The  attachment 
to  ancient  manners  applies  to  many  of  the  Dutch  inhabitants 
of  New  York    and  New  Jersey,  and  to  the  French  in  Canada. 


109 


and  to  direct  the  surgeons  in  their  operations,  and  the 
apothecaries  in  the  administration  of  medicines,  in  con- 
formity with  the  opinions  of  Hippocrates,  Galen,  and 
other  ancient  writers. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  Medical  Profession 
throughout  Europe  for  several  ages.  So  late  as  the 
reign  of  Henry  VHI,  the  Bishops  of  England,  by  virtue 
of  their  clerical  office,  but  without  the  authority  of  law, 
granted  licences  to  practice  physic.  The  colleges  in 
every  part  of  Europe,  which  were  clerical  establish- 
ments, did  the  same  by  ancient  usage.  Such,  however, 
were  the  impositions  on  the  public  from  the  great  abuse 
of  medical  degrees,  from  the  European  colleges,  as  to 
invite  Legislative  interposition ;  and  by  Acts  of  Parlia- 
ment of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  of  Henry  VHI, 
the  medical  graduates  of  the  Universities  of  Oxford 
and  Cambridge  were  prohibited  practicing  physic,  un- 
less their  degrees  had  been  granted  without  favour,  and 
in  consequence  of  twelve  years  regular  study;  and  all 
other  graduates  and  licentiates  were  prohibited  prac- 
ticing physic,  unless  permitted  after  examination  by  the 
College  of  Physicians,  which  was  then  established  in 
London.  And  Chief  Justice  Mansfield,  in  the  case  of 
Dr.  Middleton,  lately  decided  such  to  be  now  the  law 
in  England. 

The  establishment  of  the  College  of  Physicians  in 
London,  consisting  solely  of  medical  men  exercising 
authority  over  their  profession  in  the  kingdom  of  Eng- 
land, to  guard  the  public  from  deception,  was  attended 
with  the  happiest  effects,  and  gave  in  a  short  time 
respectability  to  the  physicians,  apothecaries  and  sur- 
geons of  that  part  of  Europe.  Hence  the  condition  of 
the  Medical  Profession  in  the  English  establishments 
in  the  United  States  was  at  no  time  viewed  with  much 
disrespect. 

No  material  changes  in  the  condition  of  the  Medical 
Profession  took  place  on  the  Continent  of  Europe, 
until  the  period  of  the  late  French  Revolution.  The 
Reforrnation  in  the  United  Netherlands  did  not  alter 
the  privileges  of  Colleges,  or  the  ancient  arrangements 
relative   to   the   Medical   Profession. 

The  University  of  Leyden  has  long  been  viewed  with 
reverence  by  medical  men.  It  was  the  school  of  Boer- 
haave  and  other  distinguished  medical  teachers.  In  a 
period  of  near  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  from  its 
establishment  it  never  dishonored  itself  or  the  medical 
profession.  The  Latin  language  and  not  the  vernacular 
tongue  was  then,  and  has  continued  to  be,  the  language 
of  the  Dutch  universities.  No  education,  therefore, 
could  be  afforded  to  young  surgeons  and  apothecaries, 
who  were  commonly  uninformed  in  the  learned  lan- 
guage;   nor  was  it  supposed  necessary,  as   they  were 


directed  in  their  professional  duties  by  the  supposed 
superior  skill  and  knowledge  of  those  who  were  doctors 
of  the  universities. 

The  Surgeons  in  Holland,  with  a  few  exceptions,  were 
at  that  time  and  still  are,  barber-surgeons.  The  apothe- 
caries were  by  law  compounders  of  drugs  only,  and  had 
slender  pretensions  to  any  knowledge  of  diseases ;  yet 
these  barber-surgeons  and  apothecaries  were  without 
doubt  the  medical  attendants  on  the  original  settlers  of 
this  State.  Nor  is  it  probable  that  any  doctors  of  the 
European  universities  accompanied  the  settlers  to  the 
New  Netherlands. 

It  would  be  painful  to  intrude  on  your  notice  the 
humble  condition  of  medicine  which  seems  to  have  ex- 
isted for  more  than  a  century  after  the  first  settlement 
of  this  State.  It  could  only  consist  of  a  statement  of  the 
arts  and  intrigues  by  which  the  practitioners  of  physic 
succeeded  in  advancing  their  private  and  professional 
emoluments. 

The  state  of  humiliation  in  which  the  profession  of 
medicine  existed  in  the  City  of  New  York  so  late  as 
the  middle  of  the  last  century  has  not  escaped  notice 
in  the  periodical  publications  of  that  time.  In  the  I2th 
number  of  the  Independent  Reflector,  published  in  the 
City  of  New  York  on  the  isth  of  February,  1753,  "on 
the  importance  of  the  practice  of  physic  and  the  dismal 
havoc  made  by  quacks  and  pretenders,"  it  is  observed 
"that  there  is  no  city  in  the  world  not  larger  than  New 
York  (containing  more  than  10,000  inhabitants)  that 
abounds  with  so  many  doctors ;  they  could  boast  of 
more  than  forty  gentlemen  of  the  faculty,  the  greatest 
part  of  whom  were  mere  pretenders  to  a  profession  of 
which  they  were  entirely  ignorant,  and  convincing  proofs 
of  their  incapacity  were  exemplified  in  their  iniquitous 
practices."  The  advertisements  they  published  proved 
them  ignorant  of  the  very  names  of  their  drugs.  Ignor- 
ant as  boys  in  the  lowest  class  in  a  reading  school  of 
even  the  little  art  of  spelling.  The  writer  states  his 
proofs  of  their  being  low-lived  empirics  and  then  says: 
"How  few  of  the  profession  can  even  support  a  conver- 
sation upon  the  most  common  subjects  of  physics,  with- 
out betraying  their  natural  stupidity  and  ignorance,  yet 
so  strangely  absurd  is  our  conduct  that  the  meanest 
quack  among  them  insinuates  himself  into  a  subsistence. 
How  many  of  the  lives  of  the  good  people  of  this  city 
must  annually  fall  a  sacrifice  to  those  pests  of  society! 
While  we  are  tenacious  of  our  property,  and  justly 
glory  in  laws  wisely  calculated  for  the  preservation  of 
our  professions,  how  preposterous  is  our  conduct  in 
trusting  our  persons  to  quacks  and  licensed  assassins. 
By  the  law  of  the  land,  a  person  is  guilty  of  murder  for 
killing  a  man  by  throwing  a  stone  from  a  house  into 


the  street  where  people  usually  pass,  though  there  be  no 
evidence  of  malice  prepense.  And  shall  an  illiterate 
mountebank,  who  deals  out  destruction,  escape  with 
impunity,  and  be  permitted  to  fall  on  the  bereaved 
widow  and  orphan  with  an  exorbitant  bill  of  fees,  to 
deprive  them  of  the  only  solace  they  have  left  them?" 

These  were  the  sentiments  of  a  man  of  the  first  con- 
sideration in  this  State.  In  the  first  and  second  edi- 
tions of  th^  American  Gazetteer,  the  Condition  of  the 
Medical  Profession  in  the  City  of  New  York  is  stated 
in  a  more  humiliating  manner.  To  patronize  imposters 
is  always  disreputable  to  individuals  and  degrading  to 
communities. 

Such  a  state  of  society  as  favours  a  degrading  con- 
dition of  any  of  the  learned  professions  can  only  be 
changed  by  the  slow  operation  of  time,  and  may  not  be 
effected  but  by  the  succession  of  ages.  In  medicine 
especially,  when  people  become  attached  to  professional 
imposters,  their  pride  and  self  love  are  excited  to  give 
support  to  such  persons  with  more  zeal  than  is  ever 
experienced  by  regular  physicians  and  surgeons.  Those 
who  contemplate  to  cherish  the  progress  of  medical 
science  in  this  State  must  not  imagine  that  the  diffi- 
culties which  long  opposed  the  advancement  of  knowl- 
edge are  even  now  entirely  dissipated. 

Though  the  medical  history  of  our  State,  for  a  long 
period  after  the  first  settlement,  can  only  be  viewed 
by  professional  men  with  painful  reflections;  yet  soon 
after  the  middle  of  the  last  century  various  causes  be- 
gan, and  others  have  continued  since,  to  operate  in 
meliorating  the  condition  of  the  practitioners  of  medi- 
cine. The  war  which  effected  the  conquest  of  Canada 
was,  perhaps,  the  first  circumstance  which  materially  im- 
proved the  condition  of  medicine  in  this  State.  The 
English  army  employed  for  that  purpose  left  Europe 
accompanied  by  a  highly  respectable  medical  staff,  most 
of  whom  landed  in  the  City  of  New  York,  and  contin- 
ued some  years  in  the  neighbouring  territories,  afford- 
ing opportunities  to  many  young  Americans  of  attend- 
ing the  military  hospitals,  and  receiving  such  profes- 
sional instruction  as  gave  them  afterwards  consideration 
with  the  public.  The  physicians  and  surgeons  of  the 
Anglo-American  army  gained  the  confidence  of  the 
public  by  their  superior  deportment  and  professional 
information.  The  military  establishments  in  this  State, 
after  the  Canadian  war,  required  medical  and  surgical 
attendants,  so  that  the  people  had  the  benefit  of  their 
professional  advice.  In  this  manner  a  new  order  of 
medical  men  was  introduced  into  the  community. 

About  the  middle  of  the  last  century  also  King's  Col- 
lege was  established  in  the  City  of  New  York,  and 
some   vears    later   able    Professors    were    invited    from 


Europe  to  fill  the  Literary  Departments  of  that  Institu- 
tion. This  had  a  happy  effect  on  the  sentiments  of  the 
community  respecting  general  Literature,  and  favoured 
the  progress  of  scientific  improvements. 

The  regulating  of  the  Medical  Profession  has  always 
been  an  object  of  attention  in  all  wise  governments; 
if  it  were  only  to  designate  the  distinctions  arising  from 
examinations,  and  to  confer  legal  protection,  without 
penalties  or  forfeiture. 

Before  the  American  Revolution,  laws  were  enacted 
to  regulate  the  practice  of  physic  in  the  City  of  New 
York. 

These  improvements  were  followed  by  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Medical  School  in  King's  College,  about  the 
year  1766.  In  the  year  1774,  when  I  commenced  the 
study  of  Medicine,  about  25  persons  attended  the  Ana- 
tomical Lectures,  some  of  whom  were  students  from  the 
West-Indies.  This  school,  however,  did  not  flourish 
in  a  manner  corresponding  with  the  respectability  and 
learning  of  some  of  the  Professors.  The  conduct  of  the 
governors  of  the  College  it  was  said  was  injurious  to 
the  Medical  establishment.  Much  opposition  also  ex- 
isted among  some  inhabitants,  and  even  many  of  the 
Profession,  to  a  Medical  Seminary.  I  cannot  but  grate- 
fully remember  the  early  lessons  in  the  healing  art 
which  I  received  from  the  Professors  of  this  estab- 
lishment, and  from  other  distinguished  Physicians  in 
the  City  of  New  York.* 

Perhaps  a  more  rapid  change  has  seldom  taken  place 
in  favour  of  Literature  and  the  Medical  Profession  in 
any  community  than  was  experienced  in  the  City  and 
State  of  New- York  from  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  to  the  beginning  of  the  American  war,  com- 
prehending a  period  of  about  twenty  years. 

The  fear  of  the  American  Revolutionary  war  being 
much  confined  to  this  State  afforded  opportunities  for 
Medical  information  in  the  Military  hospitals.  In  this 
manner.  Professional  improvements  may  be  said  to 
have  become  more  generally  diffused  through  the 
State  than  at  any  former  period. 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  war  which  established 
the  independence  of  the  State,  attempts  were  made  to 
arrange  a  medical  school  in  Columbia  Collegef :  but 
these  failed  of  success,  and  were  connected  with  cir- 
cumstances of  so  much  mismanagement  as  greatly  to 
affect  the  feelings  of  the  citizens  and  produced  what 
has  been  called  the  Doctors'  Mob,  which  laid  for  three 
days  all  authority  prostrate  in  the  city,  and  subjected 

*Dr.  Samuel  Glossy,  Dr.  Peter  Middleton,  Dr.  John  Jones, 
Professors;  Dr.  William  Farquhar  and  Dr.  William  Bruce, 
Physicians. 

tFormerly  King's  College. 

8  113 


several  medical  gentlemen  to  insult.  This  unfortunate 
event  tended  to  degrade  the  Medical  Character  in  the 
public  mind,  and  not  only  to  retard  the  progress  of  the 
science,  but  to  excite  unpleasant  sentiments  in  the 
people  with  respect  to  the  profession.  While  medicine 
was  about  reverting  to  a  humble  state  in  the  City  of 
New- York,  it  was  in  some  measure  upheld  by  some 
young  Physicians  and  Surgeons  who  were  induced  to 
form  a  private  Society  for  the  improvement  of  Medical 
Science  and  for  favouring  instruction  in  those  branches 
of  knowledge  connected  therewith,  and  the  Almshouse 
and  public  gaols  were  made  subservient  to  the  purposes 
of  affording  practical  Information  to  Students. 

The  Medical  Department  of  the  public  establishments 
in  the  City  of  New- York  had  usually  been  farmed  out 
to  the  lowest  bidder,  and  had  always  been  granted  to 
persons  of  little  Professional  Information. 

Upon  a  presentation  to  the  Magistrates  of  the  City, 
about  the  year  1787,  they  established  at  the  public  ex- 
pense an  apothecary's  shop  and  accepted  the  profes- 
sional services  for  the  sick  poor  of  Dr.  William 
Moore,  Dr.  Nicholas  Romayne,  Dr.  Benjamin  Kissam, 
Dr.  Wright  Post,  and  Dr.  Valentine  Seaman.  These 
gentlemen  afforded  their  gratuitous  attendance  for  some 
years,  and  formed  the  first  practical  establish- 
ment as  a  Hospital  and  Dispensary  under  the  Corpora- 
tion of  the  city,  which  existed  in  the  State.  The  Stu- 
dents had  not  only  an  opportunity  of  visiting  the  sick 
and  attending  to  the  Reports  and  Prescriptions,  but  also 
of  hearing  Lectures  on  most  branches  of  Medicine,  and 
with  such  success  that  in  the  year  1790  upwards  of  fifty 
Students  attended  the  instruction  thus  afforded. 

This  private  association  induced  the  Legislature  to 
pass  an  act  in  1791  to  establish  a  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons  for  the  sole  purpose  of  promoting  medical 
Science.  The  Regents  of  the  University,  however,  at 
that  time  declined  executing  the  Charter,  and  by  an 
arrangement  made  with  the  Trustees  of  Columbia  Col- 
lege a  third  opportunity  was  afforded  that  establishment 
to  become  a  seat  of  medical  learning.  The  private 
teachers  introduced  60  Medical  Students  to  that  Col- 
lege, which  being  reported  to  the  Legislature,  a  grant 
of  about  30,000  dollars  was  made  to  its  Trustees  for  the 
purpose  of  enlarging  the  College  buildings  and  further- 
ing the  objects  of  education. 

The  Trustees  of  Columbia  College  having  obtained 
a  number  of  Students,  paying  fees,  and  a  grant  of 
money  from  the  public,  proceeded  to  make  such  ap- 
pointments as  in  the  opinion  of  the  Students  were 
highly  unsatisfactory,  and  which  caused  the  greatest 
part  of  them  to  abandon  the  College  and  erase  their 
names  from  its  register.    This  circumstance  contributed 

114 


greatly  to  augment  the  number  of  students  at  the 
medical  school  in  Philadelphia.  The  sick  poor  of  the 
metropolis  had  for  a  century  or  more  been  attended  by 
practitioners  of  physic  in  the  manner  already  stated. 
The  senior  practitioners  of  the  city  had  long  viewed 
this  subject  with  cold  indifference,  but  as  soon  as  the 
magistrates  had  employed  men  of  fair  pretensions  to 
medical  reputation  to  attend  the  sick  under  the  public 
charge  their  sensibility  became  wonderfully  affected. 

The  passions  of  envy  and  jealousy  which  sometimes 
excite  men  to  actions  worthy  of  a  purer  origin  induced 
these  practitioners  to  exert  themselves  to  establish  a 
Dispensary  and  to  carry  into  effect  the  establishment 
of  the  New-York  Hospital,  both  of  which  institutions 
now  do  honour  to  the  City  of  New-York  as  well  as  to 
those  gentlemen  under  whose  superintendence  they  are 
placed. 

Among  the  causes  which  had  contributed  to  improve 
the  condition  of  Medicine  in  the  State  towards  the 
close  of  the  last  century  it  becomes  me  to  mention  a 
periodical  publication,  the  Medical  Repository.  This 
work  was  commenced  in  the  year  1797 ;  a  quarterly 
pamphlet  has  regularly  made  its  appearance  from  the 
time  of  its  first  publication,  so  as  to  bring  the  fourteenth 
volume  almost  to  a  close.  This  publication  is  a  com- 
pendium of  domestic  information  respecting  Medical, 
Physical  and  Scientific  researches,  deserving  a  place 
in  every  public  and  private  library. 

The  example  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  eastern  states 
has  favoured  scientific  improvement  among  us.  Sev- 
eral Students  from  this  State  have  resorted  to  the 
College  of  Philadelphia,  Connecticut,  Massachusetts 
and  New-Hampshire  for  instructions.  Others  edu- 
cated in  these  seminaries  have  established  themselves 
in  this  State  and  diffused  a  love  of  knowledge  and  zeal 
for  the  improvement  of  the  human  mind. 

Philadelphia  is  certainly  the  first  seat  of  science  in 
the  American  empire.  It  was  the  residence  of  the 
immortal  Franklin ;  his  genius  lives  in  her  literary 
establishments,  in  her  public  library,  in  her  Hospital 
for  the  relief  of  the  sick  poor.  How  respectable  are  a 
people  who  cherish  their  philosophers ;  who  clothe 
them  with  civil  power  to  exalt  their  own  dignity. 

The  first  seminary  for  medical  education  in  the  new 
world  was  founded  in  that  City  by  the  late  Dr.  Shippen, 
and  his  professional  labours  were  assisted  by  Dr. 
Morgan  and  Dr.  Kuhn,  all  native  citizens.  Dr.  Ruth, 
the  present  distinguished  Professor  in  that  establish- 
ment afterwards  aided  them  by  his  genius  and  talents 
in  favouring  the  progress  of  Medical  Education,  and 
now  this  celebrated  teacher  enjoys  the  satisfaction  to 

115 


preside  at  a  medical  school  not  excelled  by  many  in 
Europe. 

The  medical  profession  in  this  State  is  also  indebted 
to  the  exertions  of  Dr.  Warren  and  other  Professors  of 
Medicine  in  Boston,-  and  to  Dr.  Smith  of  Dartmouth 
College  for  their  labours  in  disseminating  Medical 
knowledge. 

The  most  important  event  to  improve  the  condition  of 
Medicine  in  this  State  is  connected  with  the  establish- 
ment of  this  Society  by  virtue  of  an  act  passed  on  the 
4th  day  of  April,  1806.  This  law  was  enacted  at  the 
always  merit  the  respect  and  attention  of  this  Society. 
of  Washington,  Saratoga  and  Montgomery,  who  will 
always  merit  the  respect  and  attention  of  this  Society. 
May  the  establishment  of  this  Institution  form  an  era 
in  the  history  of  the  State  from  which  we  may  here- 
after trace  the  successful  progress  of  Medical  Science. 

Among  the  occurrences  which  I  consider  it  my  duty 
to  lay  before  the  Society  is  an  act  of  the  Legislature 
making  the  medical  degrees  of  the  Regents  of  the  Uni- 
versity licences  to  practice  physic  in  this  State.  New- 
York  affords  the  first  instance  in  the  modem  history 
of  Physic,  of  professional  regulation  being  placed  under 
the  direction  of  men  in  power,  after  being  vested  in 
the  members  of  that  profession.  It  may  be  doubted 
whether  any  advantages  to  the  community  are  likely 
to  arise  from  this  regulation.  It  is  among  the  im- 
portant duties  of  this  Society  to  protect  the  profession 
from  the  intrusion  of  improper  characters  and  to  secure 
the  public  from  impositions. 

The  Society  was  intended  to  unite  in  the  memorials 
to  the  Honourable  the  Legislature  for  the  purchase  of 
a  garden  on  the  Island  of  New- York,  belonging  to  Dr. 
Hosack.  But  it  was  surely  presumed  that  the  public 
expenditure  of  money  would  be  proportionate  to  the 
advantages  obtained  in  favouring  the  promotion  of 
Medical  Science.  From  general  information  upwards 
of  70,000  dollars  are  to  be  granted  to  Dr.  Hosack  for 
this  garden.  In  a  country  where  every  farm  or  forest 
affords  a  variety  of  plants  sufficient  to  illustrate  the 
principles  of  Botany,  public  animosity  may  be  excited  on 
account  of  this  transaction,  especially  as  no  advantages 
can  result  to  Medical  Literature  commensurate  to  this 
purchase.  The  society  ought  not  therefore  to  be  impli- 
cated in  the  consequences  which  may  probably  arise 
hereafter  in  the  opinion  of  the  public  on  this  subject, 
nor  silently  permit  the  sacred  cause  of  science  to  be 
used  as  a  pretence  for  favouring  the  views  of  individ- 
uals. 

The  researches  of  Professor  Davy  into  the  chemical 
constitution  of  Bodies  have  been  continued  during  the 
past  year  and  the  result  has  been  laid  before  the  Royal 

116 


Society  of  London;  the  abstract  of  the  developments 
of  this  enterprising  gentleman  is  laid  before  you,  to- 
gether with  such  scientific  improvements  as  have  been 
presented  to  the  public  since  the  last  anniversary  of 
the  Society. 

It  would  be  my  duty  at  this  time  to  lay  before  the 
Society  every  occurrence  in  the  State  during  the  last 
year  connected  with  the  interesting  subject  of  our  Pro- 
fession ;  but  many  of  them  may  reach  the  members  of 
the  Society  in  another  form. 

I  cannot  close  this  address  without  expressing  to  you 
my  obligations  for  the  unmerited  attentions  you  have 
permitted  me  to  experience,  and  while  I  respectfully 
offer  the  sentiments  of  esteem  which  I  shall  continue 
to  entertain  for  my  fellow  members,  I  fondly  cherish 
the  pleasing  expectation  that  the  Society  will  continue 
to  exist  as  an  Institution  creditable  to  the  State  and 
highly  honourable  to  the  medical  profession. 


PRIZE  ESSAYS. 

At  the  very  first  meeting  of  the  Society  it  was 
determined  that  prizes  should  be  offered  in  order 
to  encourage  medical  research.  At  the  time 
when  medical  literature  was  not  the  filled-up  and 
overflowing  measure  that  it  has  since  become, 
the  need  for  encouraging  medical  writers  was 
very  evident.  At  first,  as  can  be  seen  from  the 
details  for  the  examination  of  essays,  it  was 
thought  that  many  persons  would  enter  into  the 
competitions.  Probably  there  was  considerable 
disappointment  in  this  matter.  It  is  surprising, 
however,  considering  the  limited  opportunities 
for  the  consultation  of  foreign  works,  and  the 
little  time  for  research  observations,  that  the 
busy  medical  practitioners  of  the  early  part  of 
the  century  enjoyed,  how  many  of  the  early 
prize  essays  have  a  distinct  value  even  at  the 
present  time.  In  order  to  show  how  much  the 
Medical  Society  accomplished  by  its  prize  es- 
says, excerpts  have  been  made  from  the  first  five 
of  them  that  are  preserved  to  us.  They  are  valu- 
able reading  even  at  the  present  time,  though  it 
might  be  expected  that  they  would  treat  of  sub- 
jects of  little  interest  at  this  late  date,  and  dis- 

117 


cuss  medical  methods  so  antiquated  as  to  have 
only  an  historical  value. 

Nothing  that  we  know  is  more  chastening  for 
those  who  boast  of  recent  medical  progress  than 
to  find  that  writers  in  the  first  quarter  of  the 
nineteenth  centurj',  on  such  subjects  as  consump- 
tion, the  treatment  of  typhoid  fever,  the  thera- 
peutics of  iodine,  delirium  tremens,  and  occupa- 
tions and  disease,  should  have  treated  their  themes 
not  only  so  that  they  are  interesting  even  now, 
almost  a  centur}'  later,  but  that  the  opinions  of 
conservative  medical  writers  of  the  present  day 
would  be  expressed  in  practically  the  same  terms. 

The  two  prize  essays  that  follow  those 
from  which  we  have  made  excerpts,  were 
written  by  Dr.  Nathan  S.  Davis,  the  dis- 
tinguished founder  of  the  American  Medical 
Association,  who  lived  to  be  a  patriarch  in  medi- 
cine down  to  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth 
centur}'.  Anyone  who  knew  Dr.  Davis  well  will 
be  assured  at  once  that  anything  that  he  wrote 
in  the  vigor  of  his  early  manhood  when  he  was 
accomplishing  so  much  for  medical  organiza- 
tion, as  well  as  medical  literature,  will  be  worthy 
of  perusal  at  any  time. 

The  portion  of  the  proceedings  of  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Society  referring  to  the  matter 
of  prize  essays  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  liber- 
ality of  the  members  of  the  State  Medical 
Society,  and  also  of  the  breadth  of  view  that 
dictated  the  subjects  for  which  the  prizes  were 
offered. 

The  Society,  taking  into  consideration  the  im- 
portance of  promoting  philosophical  and  medi- 
cal enquiries,  which  might  be  interesting  to  the 
public,  deemed  it  expedient  for  that  purpose  to 
adopt  prize  questions,  when  the  following  were 
agreed  to,  and  directed  to  be  published: 

I.  A  Medal,  value  fifty  dollars,  for  the  best 
dissertation  on  the  topography,  geology,  and 
mineralogy  of  any  county  in  the  state,  together 

ii8 


with  an  account  of  the  prevalent  diseases  in  such 
county. 

2.  A  Medal,  value  twenty-five  dollars,  for  the 
second  best  dissertation  on  the  same  subject. 

3.  A  Medal,  value  twenty-five  dollars,  for 
the  best  dissertation  on  the  causes  and  best 
method  of  preventing  and  of  curing  the  typhus 
mitior,  or  low  nervous  fever,  which  prevails  in 
the  different  counties  of  the  state.* 

Drs.  Sheldon,  Graham  and  Wheeler,  who  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  determine  the  best 
means  of  adjudging  the  preceding  prize  ques- 
tions, reported — "That  it  be  the  duty  of  the  Pres- 
ident, Vice-President,  Secretary,  Treasurer  and 
Censors  to  select  from  the  communications  six 
of  the  best  dissertations  on  each  question,  which 
shall  be  presented  to  the  society  for  final  adju- 
dication." 

The  first  prize  essay  that  is  preserved  is  that 
of  Dr.  Andrew  Hammersley,  entitled,  "A  Dis- 
sertation on  the  Remote  and  Proximate  Causes 
of  Phthisis  Pulmonalis,"  to  which  the  prize  for 
the  year  1825  was  adjudged.  It  is  published  in 
the  Transactions  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  Vol.  II.,  1834-5,  coming 
after  two  prize  essays  in  the  same  volume  that 
had  been  awarded  prizes  in  years  subsequent  to 
it.  The  reason  for  this  very  probably  is  that  the 
manuscript  of  the  other  essays  had  been  in  the 
printer's  hands  before  this  reached  him.  Al- 
though it  might  be  expected  that  there  would  be 
little  of  interest  at  the  present  time  in  a  disser- 
tation on  the  causation  of  consumption,  written 
in  1825,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  in  the  first 


*By  typhus  mitior  is  evidently  meant  the  fever  that  we  now 
call  typhoid,  and  which  was  at  that  time  confounded  with  true 
typhus — the  typhus  gravis  or  gravior  of  older  authors.  Clearly 
there  was  a  suspicion  already  becoming  prevalent  that  the  milder 
disease,  so  widespread  in  its  contagiousness,  and  so  apt  to  make 
its  appearance  in  the  country  at  a  distance  from  cities  and  sea- 
ports (for  typhoid  has  ever  been  a  rural  disease),  was  distinct 
from  the  severe  affection  so  common  at  that  time  on  shipboard 
and  in  seaboard  towns  as  well  as  in  the  jails  of  large  towns. 

119 


quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  medical 
profession  appreciated  certain  phases  of  tuber- 
culosis more  judiciously  than  at  a  later  period. 
Dr.  Hammersley's  discussion  of  cold  as  a  source 
of  consumption  is  especially  interesting  because 
of  his  refusal  to  concede  it  as  an  important  fac- 
tor.    He  says : 

"Popular  prejudice  has  all  along  conducted  to  the 
belief  that  sudden  exposure  to  cold,  when  the  body  is 
heated,  would  be  attended  with  extreme  hazard,  and 
this  alone  has  been  accounted  one  of  the  fruitful  sources 
of  disease.  The  researches,  however,  of  more  modern 
experimenters  have  tended  in  no  small  degree  to  qual- 
ify such  conclusions. 

Those  of  Dr.  George  Fordyce  and  Sir  Charles  Blag- 
den,  familiar  to  every  person,  are  among  the  most  im- 
portant in  evincing  that  exposure  to  a  high  degree  of 
cold,  after  violent  heat,  is  unattended  with  danger  to 
the  constitution.  This  fact  is  likewise  confirmed  by 
the  mode  in  which  the  practice  of  bathing  is  conducted 
in  Russia,  and  in  several  other  countries,  the  inhabitants 
of  which,  to  heighten  the  luxury  and  add  to  the  re- 
freshment of  immersion  in  heated  baths  or  long  ex- 
posure to  vapor  of  high  temperature,  immediately 
plunge  into  contiguous  cold  baths,  or  run  into  the  open 
air  and  without  the  smallest  covering  on  their  bodies 
roll  themselves  in  snow.  In  considering  a  fact  of  this 
kind,  there  are  two  particular  circumstances  to  be  no- 
ticed, to  wit,  the  acquired  vigor  of  the  subject  to  whom 
the  practice  appertains  and  the  inherent  powers  of  re- 
action possessed  by  the  animal  economy.  The  hardy 
Russian,  whose  every  fibre  is  made  tense  by  the  severity 
of  his  climate,  suffers  no  harm  from  such  practices,  as 
the  principle  possessed  by  the  system  just  adverted  to 
is  put  in  action  in  a  frame  capable  of  enduring  the 
influence  of  the  opposite  media  to  which  it  is  exposed." 

A  little  bit  further  on  Dr.  Hammersley  dwells 
particularly  on  the  historical  case,  that  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  which  used  to  be  most  fre- 
quently quoted  as  an  example  of  the  danger  in- 
curred by  bathing  in  cold  water,  while  the  in- 
dividual was  heated  and  perspiring.  His  dis- 
cussion of  this  would  be  acknowledged  at  the 
present  time  as  thoroughly  sensible. 

"Much  has  been  said  by  those  who  dwell  very  earn- 
estly on  the  case  of  Alexander,  and  the  great  risk  he 

I20 


encountered  by  bathing  in  the  River  Cydnus  when 
clothed  with  perspiration.  Dr.  Currie  has,  however,  in 
our  judgment,  very  accurately  conjectured  'that  from 
the  length  and  difficulty  of  the  march,  he  must  have 
been  cooled  as  well  as  debilitated  by  excessive  perspi- 
ration and  fatigue,  and  under  such  circumstances  im- 
mersion in  the  cold  and  rapid  Cydnus  was  followed  by 
the  consequences  which  we  would  expect  from  the 
principles  already  laid  down.'  The  vigor  of  his  frame 
must,  we  may  presume,  have  been  temporarily  sus- 
pended and  the  temperature  of  his  body  to  such  a 
degree  lowered  as  to  leave  not  sufficient  room  for  the 
necessary  reaction  to  occur." 

With  regard  to  the  influence  of  vitiated  air 
in  the  predisposition  of  the  individual,  to  con- 
tract pulmonary  tuberculosis,  Dr.  Hammersley 
could  not  be  more  explicit  were  he  writing  at 
the  present  time.  The  subject  of  dust-laden  air, 
too,  is  discussed  very  thoroughly ;  and  all  the 
various  occupations  in  which  irritant  particles 
find  their  way  into  the  lungs,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence predispose  to  the  development  of  pulmo- 
nary consumption,  are  pointed  out  even  more 
fully  than  at  the  present  time,  because  various 
sanitary  regulations,  the  result  of  legal  enact- 
ments, are  now  enforced  in  occupations  which 
used  to  be  a  fruitful  source  of  pulmonary  con- 
sumption. Because  of  the  historical  interest  of 
this,  the  whole  passage  with  regard  to  pneumo- 
coniosis seems  worth  while  quoting: 

"Among  the  various  artisans  Dr.  Cullen  has  enumer- 
ated stone  cutters,  millers  and  flax  dressers  as  partic- 
ularly subject  to  attacks  of  this  disease.  'But  the  most 
striking  example,'  says  another  writer,  'of  this  species 
of  injury  is  afforded  by  one  of  the  processes  of  the 
needle  manufactory ;  it  is  that  of  dry  grinding  by 
which  the  needles  are  pointed;  the  persons  employed 
in  this  labor  are  universally  affected  in  a  short  time 
with  the  symptoms  of  approaching  consumption.  They 
go  on  coughing  till  they  either  spit  blood  or  a  thick 
substance  having  the  appearance  of  matter.  They  de- 
cline in  flesh  and  strength  and  scarcely  ever  survive  to 
the  fortieth  year.  Dr.  Kirkland  observes  that  scythe 
grinders  are  subject  to  a  disease  of  the  lungs  from  par- 
ticles of  sand  mixed  with  iron  dust  (getting  into  the 
lungs  and  setting  up  an  affection)  which  among  them- 


selves  they  call  the  grinder's  rot'  It  is  moreover  as- 
serted on  good  authority  that  the  gilders  of  London 
die  almost  universally  at  a  very  early  period  of  a  sim- 
ilar disease.  Certain  other  occupations  are  very  prop- 
erly thought  to  bestow  an  immunity  from  this  extensive 
malady.  Such  are  those  of  boatmen,  watermen,  sailors 
and  gardeners.  Certain  animals  of  the  lower  order 
are  moreover  supposed  to  enjoy  a  marked  exemption, 
as  dogs ;  while  on  the  other  hand,  cows,  it  is  reported, 
are  particularly  subject  to  it." 

There  is  in  this  last  sentence  a  tribute  to  the 
benefit  of  the  open  air  in  such  cases,  and  a  rec- 
ognition of  the  disease  in  animals  that  would 
seem  to  belong  rather  to  the  end  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  than  to  its  first  quarter. 

The  second  prize  essay  that  has  been  preserved 
is  to  be  found  in  the  "Transactions  of  the  Medical 
Society  for  the  State  of  New  York  for  1834-35." 
It  bears  the  title,  "An  Essay  on  the  History, 
Causes  and  Treatment  of  Typhus  Fever,"  to 
which  the  annual  prize  for  the  year  1828  was 
awarded.  The  essay  was  presented  in  compe- 
tition by  Dr.  Alfred  Y.  Magill,  of  Winchester, 
Va.  The  essay,  of  course,  was  written  before  the 
general  recognition  of  the  distinction  between 
typhoid  and  typhus  fever,  and  it  is  evident  that 
both  diseases  are  confounded.  It  might  be 
thought  that  whatever  is  permanently  valuable 
in  this  essay  would  occur  in  the  observations 
on  the  causes  of  the  disease,  or  perhaps  in  the 
gleanings  from  the  literature  as  to  its  history. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  it  is  under  treat- 
ment that  the  best  part  of  the  essay,  and  the  only 
part  that  retains  an  enduring  interest,  is  to  be 
found.  The  confusion  as  to  the  two  diseases 
grouped  under  the  name  of  typhus,  the  lack  of 
definite  pathological  observations,  though  there 
are  evident  signs  even  in  the  literature  quoted 
here,  that  the  enteric  basis  of  what  we  now  know 
as  typhoid  fever  was  coming  to  be  generally 
recognized,  rendered  much  of  the  essay  a  mere 
vague  theorizing  from  false  premises. 


It  is  surprising  to  find  in  this  essay,  written 
seventy-five  years  ago,  a  very  definite  expres- 
sion of  the  value  of  cold  water,  especially  of  cold 
bathing,  and,  where  this  is  impossible,  even  of 
cold  air,  in  lessening  the  temperature,  reducing 
patients'  restlessness,  moderating  the  pulse  and 
tempting  him  to  restful  sleep.  Here  is  a  typical 
passage : 

"No  one  can  peruse  Dr.  Currie's  recent  experience  in 
this  matter  without  being  convinced  that  cold  water 
when  properly  applied  is  a  most  important  remedy  in 
case  of  fever.  Its  utility  is  not  confined  to  typhus ;  it 
is  equally  serviceable  in  all  fevers  attended  with  in- 
crease of  heat  and  arterial  action.  Its  effect  upon  the 
pulse  is  astonishing  in  many  cases.  We  have  often 
known  the  mere  bathing  of  the  hands  and  arms  of  a 
febrile  patient  to  reduce  the  action  of  the  pulse  from 
ten  to  fifteen  beats  in  the  minute,  and  if  this  partial 
application  of  cold  water  has  such  an  effect  on  the  action 
of  the  heart,  how  much  greater  must  be  the  effect  of 
a  cold  bath !  We  have  many  instances  on  record  of  its 
calming  at  once  the  most  furious  delirium;  persons  in 
such  a  situation  have  often  jumped  overboard  from  a 
vessel  into  the  sea  and  been  taken  up  perfectly  calm 
and  rational  and  with  an  almost  complete  extinguish- 
ment of  the  fever.  With  the  many  strong  instances 
recorded  in  various  works  of  its  remarkable  efficacy  in 
curing  fever,  it  is  justly  a  matter  of  surprise  that  physi- 
cians so  seldom  call  its  great  powers  into  requisition. 
It  exercises  a  more  immediate  control  over  the  action 
of  the  heart  than  blood-letting.  Dr.  Currie  mentions 
a  striking  instance  of  the  effects  of  cool  air  in  reducing 
the  pulse.  'In  the  month  of  May,  1801,'  says  he,  'I 
was  desired  to  see  a  patient  ill  of  fever  in  Sparling 
Street.  I  found  him  in  the  tenth  or  eleventh  day  of  the 
fever,  delirious  and  restless ;  the  surface  of  the  body 
dry,  and  his  heat  104  degrees  of  Fahrenheit.  The  room 
was  close,  and  I  desired  the  only  window  in  it  opened. 
The  wind  from  the  northwest  blew  directly  into  this 
window,  and  the  bed  being  situated  between  it  and 
the  chimney,  a  pretty  brisk  stream  of  air  passed  over  it. 
The  patient  had  just  thrown  off  a  considerable  part  of 
his  bed  clothes  and  was  exposed  naked  to  the  breeze. 
I  sat  by  him  with  my  finger  on  his  pulse  watching  the 
effect.  In  a  little  time  the  pulse  fell  from  120  to  114 
in  the  minute;  he  became  more  tranquil,  and  soon 
afterwards  he  sank  into  a  quiet  sleep,  in  which  he  re- 
mained when  the  water  for  affusion  was  prepared ;  of 
course  we  did  not  disturb  him ;  he  remained  exposed 

123 


to  this  cold  air  until  morning,  when  his  pulse  was 
found  to  be  about  loo  and  his  heat  loi.' "  * 

Almost  needless  to  say,  Magill  recognized  the 
fact  that  there  would  be  much  prejudice  against 
the  use  of  cold  water,  especially  as  regards  bath- 
ing or  affusion,  and  he  therefore  suggests  cold 
rubbings  and  wrappings  with  cloth.  He  notes 
that  usually  this  form  of  treatment  is  so  conso- 
nant with  the  patient's  inclinations,  once  it  has 
been  tried,  that  there  is  usually  no  further  dififi- 
culty  in  its  application.  In  severe  cases,  peremp- 
torily requiring  the  use  of  active  means,  he  ad- 
vises the  doctor  to  disregard  the  prejudice 
against  the  use  of  cold  baths,  or  of  cold  affu- 
sions. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  did  not  consider  that 
all  patients  suffering  with  fever  should  be  sub- 
jected to  cold  applications  indiscriminately,  but 
advised  the  selection  of  patients  and  suggested 
certain  contraindications  to  this  method  of 
treatment.  His  paragraph  on  this  matter  is  of 
suggestive  interest  and  practical  value,  even  at 
the  present  time,  accordingly,  we  quote  it  en- 
tire: 

"But  cold  water  is  by  no  means  to  be  used  indis- 
criminately in  every  case  of  fever ;  neither  is  it  to  be 
used  in  all  stages  of  any  fever ;  the  rules  which  Currie 
has  laid  down  on  this  subject  are  excellent  and  cannot 
be  followed  too  closely.  If  we  obey  strictly  his  direc- 
tions, we  will  always  be  prevented  from  misapplying  or 
doing  injury  to  its  use.  He  gives  separate  rules  for 
the  external  and  internal  use  of  cold  water,  but  as  its 
effect,  except  in  degree,  is  the  same  when  used  either 
way,  so  one  set  of  rules  will  answer  as  a  guide  for  both. 
His  first  general   rule  is  that  'it  may  be  used    (either 


[*It  is  interesting  to  note  that  though  the  clinical 
thermometer  was  not  often  used  for  half  a  century 
after  the  date  of  this  observation,  indeed,  Dr.  Keen 
says  that  surgeons  during  our  Civil  War  estimated 
fever  by  touch  and  not  by  the  thermometer,  this 
English  observer  quoted  by  Dr.  Magill  was  studying 
his  fever  cases  very  carefully  with  the  aid  of  a  Fahr- 
enheit thermometer  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth 
centur}'.] 

124 


internally  or  externally)  when  there  is  no  sense  of 
chillness  present,  when  the  heat  of  the  surface  is  stead- 
ily above  what  is  natural,  and  when  there  is  no  general 
or  profuse  perspiration.'  We  will  now  give  the  sub- 
stance of  the  particular  rules  he  has  laid  down  on  this 
subject.  1st,  'Cold  water  is  not  to  be  used  either  in- 
ternally or  externally  in  the  cold  stage  of  the  paroxysm 
of  the  fever,  however  urgent  the  thirst ;  taken  at  such 
times  it  increases  the  chillness  and  produces  great 
weakness  of  the  pulse,  and  if  used  to  any  extent  might 
cause  the  death  of  the  patient.'  2d,  'When  the  hot 
stage  is  fairly  formed  and  the  surface  is  dry  and 
burning,  cold  water  may  be  used  both  ways  with  the 
utmost  freedom ;  frequent  draughts  of  cold  liquid  and 
its  external  application,  under  such  circumstances,  are 
highly  grateful ;  they  diminish  very  much  the  heat  of 
the  body  and  lessen  considerably  the  volume  and  fre- 
quency of  the  pulse.'  3d,  'It  is  also  necessary  to  ab- 
stain from  the  use  of  cold  water  when  the  body  is 
under  profuse  perspiration,  and  this  caution  is  more 
important  in  proportion  to  the  continuance  of  this 
perspiration.' " 

The  third  of  the  prize  essays  pubhshed  had 
for  its  subject,  "The  History,  Preparation  and 
Therapeutic  Uses  of  Iodine,"  and  was  presented 
by  Samuel  J.  Hobson,  M.D.,  a  member  of  the 
Philadelphia  Medical  Society.  Those  who  think 
that  at  the  present  time  we  have  any  new  or  re- 
cent sugg-estions  with  regard  to  the  therapeutic 
vakie  of  iodine  or  its  combinations,  should  read 
this  essay.*  There  is  of  course  scarcely  any 
pathological  condition  in  any  important  organ 
that  has  not  been  apparently  benefited  by  iodine, 
in  the  hands  of  some  investigator.  Even  as 
early  as  1830,  however,  it  was  true  that  symp- 
toms of  all  forms  of  chronic  disease  were  at 
least  relieved  by  iodine  or  its  compounds.  The 
list  of  diseases  given  by  Dr.  Hobson  includes 
such  terms  as  scrofula,  enlargement  of  the  mam- 
mary glands,  of  the  Hver  and  spleen,  of  the  testi- 
cles, marasmus  or  disease  of  the  mesenteric 
glands,  all  the  various  forms  of  tuberculosis  in 
all  parts  of  the  body,  and  nearly  everything  else 


*Transactions  of  the  Medical  Society  of  New  York  State,  Vol. 
11,    I834-S- 

125 


from  varicose  veins  to  diseased  heart  and  angina 
pectoris,  and  polysarcia  or  corpulence,  and  the 
non-union  of  fractures. 

It  was  especially  recommended  for  enlarge- 
ments of  the  various  glands  that  are  possessed, 
as  we  have  since  learned,  of  an  internal  secre- 
tion, as  the  prostate,  the  thymus,  and  the  thy- 
roid. The  enlargement  of  the  thymus  gland,  for 
which  it  is  supposed  to  be  especially  useful,  is 
that  which  by  its  sudden  acute  effects  produces 
serious  dispnea  or  even  convulsions,  so-called 
thymic  asthma  which  may  result  in  sudden 
death,  an  affection  that  is  often  thought  to  be 
of  much  more  recent  observation.  It  was  with 
regard  to  enlargements  of  the  thyroid,  however, 
that  the  most  important  field  of  iodine  in  thera- 
peutics was  found.  Dr.  Hobson's  discussion  of 
this  will  be  of  interest  even  to  the  modern  thera- 
peutist. As  his  illustrative  case  is  associated 
with  a  special  use  of  the  electric  current,  not  very 
unlike  that  known  in  more  recent  times  as  kat- 
aphoresis,  the  whole  passage  is  quoted. 

"Bronchocele,  or  Goitre.  Such  unparalleled  powers 
has  iodine  displayed  in  this  disease  that  it  has  received, 
by  almost  universal  consent,  the  title  of  specific. 

We  do  not  conceive  it  necessary  to  select  any  from 
among  the  numerous  cases,  except  one,  which  have 
been  reported  as  illustrative  of  the  successful  employ- 
ment of  iodine  in  this  disease,  as  its  efficacy  is  too  well 
known. 

The  case  we  are  about  to  mention  is  one  related  by 
Dr.  Coster  and  was  cured  in  a  singular  and  most  in- 
genious manner — by  combining  the  action  of  the  Vol- 
taic Pile  with  that  of  iodine. 

A  young  man  had  a  goitre  of  large  size  which  had 
resisted  the  use  of  iodine  both  internally  and  by  fric- 
tion. Being  aware  that  iodine  was  attracted  by  the 
positive  pole,  Dr.  C.  thought  it  probable  that  by  apply- 
ing iodine  on  one  side  of  the  tumor  and  the  pole  to 
the  other,  its  absorption  would  be  accelerated ;  the  re- 
sult was  highly  confirmatory.  He  performed  the  op- 
eration twice  a  day,  taking  care  to  change  sides  at  each 
time  of  its  operation,  i.  e.,  in  the  morning  he  would 
rub  the  ointment  on  the  right  side  of  the  tumor  and 
apply  the  pole  to  the  left ;   and  in  the  evening  vice  versa. 

126 


He  kept  the  tumor  under  its  influence  for  ten  or  twelve 
minutes,  and  in  the  space  of  twenty  days  it  was  en- 
tirely removed.  To  show  that  its  effect  was  not  solely 
owing  to  the  pile  he  had  previously  subjected  the 
tumor  to  a  galvanic  current  without  the  least  sensible 
effect.  He  used  the  pure  iodine  ointment  made  in  the 
proportion  of  two  grains  to  a  scruple  of  lard.  It  was 
the  only  case  in  which  he  ever  adopted  the  above  plan 
of  treatment,  but  recommends  physicians  to  give  it  a 
trial  in  all  obstinate  cases  of  the  disease  and  also  of 
scrofula. 

When  used  in  the  ordinary  way  we  direct  together 
with  the  internal  use;  in  bad  cases,  frictions  twice  or 
thrice  a  day  on  the  tumor,  with  the  ointment  either  of 
iodine  or  hydriodate  of  potash ;  it  should  be  rubbed 
with  a  portion  about  the  size  of  a  hazel-nut  or  more 
until  the  unguent  is  absorbed.  There  is  frequently  a 
little  hard,  knotty  lump  that  remains  after  the  goitre 
is  dissipated  which  is  often  difficult  and  sometimes 
impossible  to  remove.  Mr.  Austin,  of  England,  is  in 
the  habit  of  using  strongly  camphorated  mercurial 
ointment  for  its  removal.  The  use  of  iodine  ought 
never  to  be  imprudently  persevered  in  on  account 
of  it." 


Some  of  the  notes  to  the  essay  on  iodine  con- 
tain some  curious  observations  made  with  regard 
to  the  effect  of  this  substance  on  the  sexual 
sphere,  especially  as  regards  the  mammae  and 
testicles.  These  observations  have  not  been  en- 
tirely confirmed,  yet  there  has  always  remained 
a  persistent  tradition  with  regard  to  the  influ- 
ence of  iodine  on  such  glandular  structure  when 
used  for  prolonged  periods. 


"This  last  effect  (that  of  causing  reduction  in  size  of 
sex  organs)  has  more  than  once  been  observed;  and 
from  merely  remedial  doses.  Professor  Hufeland  says 
he  has  seen  three  cases  where  the  mammae  disappeared 
during  its  use  for  disease. — Amer.  Med.  Record,  vol. 
VHI,  p.  624. 

It  is  also  said  that  men  have  been  castrated,  if  I  may 
so  speak,  from  the  use  of  iodine.  Such  events  are  apt 
to  create  an  aversion  to  the  remedy;  but  they  are  of 
extremely  rare  occurrence  and  generally  proceed  from 
its  protracted  or  injudicious  use. 

These  facts  demonstrate,  however,  its  potent  sway 
over  the  absorbent  and  glandular  systems.     But  what 

127 


remedy    is    there    whose    action    is    not   influenced   by 
temperament  or  idiosyncracy  ?" 

Dr.  Hobson's  directions  as  to  the  dosage  and 
methods  of  administering  the  various  prepara- 
tions of  iodine  show  how  far  advances  had  been 
made  in  the  direction  of  the  most  modem 
thought  at  a  time  when  this  substance  and  its 
compounds  were  as  yet  scarcely  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century  before  the  medical  profes- 
sion. 


"With  regard  to  the  administration  of  iodine,  we 
should  observe  the  same  general  rules  with  it  as  with 
every  other  active  medicine ; — to  commence  with  mi- 
nute doses,  and  gradually  increase  it : — to  watch  its 
effects : — to  attend  to  the  age,  temperament  and  imme- 
diate condition  of  the  patient : — to  suspend  it  on  the 
manifestation  of  any  untoward  sj^mptom,  ...  Of 
the  tincture  of  iodine  and  the  solution  of  hydriodate  of 
potassium,  we  should  commence  with  six  drops  of 
either  to  an  adult  three  times  a  day,  about  two  hours 
after  each  meal,  and  to  be  cautiously  augmented,  say, 
another  drop  every  other  day  until  we  reach  to  the 
amount  of  twenty  drops  thrice  a  day;  it  may,  how- 
ever, by  continuance,  be  gradually  increased  with  safety 
to  25  to  30,  and  even  to  40  drops,  thrice  a  day;  at  least 
we  know  that  practitioners  have  occasionally  increased 
the  dose  to  that  amount  with  impunity.  At  page  247  we 
mentioned  cases  where  enormous  doses  were  taken 
daily  with  no  bad  effect. 

Our  reason  for  advising  it  to  be  taken  some  time 
after  eating  is  that  then  it  would  be  less  apt  to  produce 
nausea,  an  effect  frequently  complained  of  by  patients 
under  its  use.  Of  the  two  the  solut.  potass,  hydriod. 
is  found  by  experience  to  be  far  less  liable  to  disagree 
with  the  stomach  than  the  tincture  of  iodine,  and  hence 
it  is  more  generally  employed  especially  in  private  prac- 
tice, and  should  always  be  in  delicate  females.  We  may 
administer  either  of  them  in  a  wine  glass  full  or  more 
of  pure  or  sweetened  water  with  a  few  droDS  of  tincture 
of  lavender,  cinnamon  or  mint  to  render  it  more  agree- 
able. As  the  tincture  of  iodine  possesses  a  very  un- 
pleasant taste  and  smell,  it  would  be  perhaps  most  pal- 
atable if  taken  in  some  of  the  aromatic  syrups.  Coindet 
always  exhibited  it  in  capillaire  syrup.  The  solut. 
potas.  hydriod.  has  no  taste  whatever. 

Some  may  think  that  the  dose  we  have  recommended 
to  begin  with  is  unnecessarily  small,  but  we  are  con- 

128 


vinced  from  what  we  have  read  that  too  many  prac- 
titioners are  in  the  habit  of  commencing  with  injuri- 
ously large  doses,  hence  we  so  often  hear  of  their 
having  to  suspend  it  from  its  inducing  nausea,  headache, 
febrile  excitement,  etc.  It  is  moreover  a  false  notion 
that  we  can  hasten  the  cure  or  obtain  more  good  from 
medicines  of  this  kind  by  giving  them  in  large  doses; 
we  may  indeed  obtain  their  poisonous  effects,  but  not 
their  specific  constitutional  sanative  influence,  if  I  may 
so  speak." 

The  closing'  sentences  of  these  directions  have 
in  other  words  often  been  re-echoed  since  Dr. 
Hobson's  time,  and  the  thoroughgoing  conser- 
vatism of  his  position  is  all  the  more  remarkable 
as  it  is  evident  from  his  essay  that  he  was  an 
enthusiast  on  the  subject  of  Iodine. 

It  is  rather  curiously  interesting  to  find  that 
the  first  prize  essay  published  by  the  New  York 
State  Medical  Society  was  on  the  subject  of  De- 
lirium Tremens,  though  it  is  not  a  matter  of 
surprise  to  find  that  the  essay  was  written  by 
Dr.  James  Conquest  Cross  of  Kentucky.  How 
long  that  State  has  enjoyed  its  reputation 
for  distilling  is  not  clear,  but  in  the  mod- 
ern time  we  would  be  sure  to  assume  that  it  was 
the  opportunities  provided  Dr.  Cross  by  his 
special  Kentucky  environment  that  enabled  him 
to  gather  the  really  valuable  observations  which 
constitute  the  basis  of  his  essay.  I  say  that  this 
was  the  first  essay  published  by  the  New  York 
State  Medical  Society  because  it  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Transactions  in  what  is  called  Vol.  I.  for 
the  years  1832  and  1833.  The  prize  was 
awarded  for  the  year  1831,  and  as  already  men- 
tioned the  prize  essays  for  1825,  that  of  Dr. 
Hammersley  on  the  Causes  of  Phthisis,  and 
for  1830,  that  of  Dr.  Hobson  on  Iodine,  were 
published  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Transac- 
tions, issued  for  the  years  1834  and  35. 

Dr.  Cross'  essay  on  Delirium  Tremens  con- 
tains a  very  valuable  review  of  the  literature  on 
the  subject,  published  up  to  the  year  1830.  Ac- 
cording to  this,  delirium  tremens  was  not  recogf- 

9  129 


nized  as  a  distinct  affection  due  to  a  specific 
cause,  until  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. He  asserts  that  it  was  not  described  as  an 
independent  disease  until  the  year  1801.  Even 
then  the  description  of  it,  issued  by  Dr.  Samuel 
Burton  Pearson,  was  only  meant  for  private  cir- 
culation in  the  circle  of  his  personal  acquaint- 
ances. It  was  not  until  1813  that  the  value  of 
this  article  was  recognized  to  such  an  extent, 
that  in  order  to  make  it  more  generally  known 
in  the  profession,  it  was  reprinted  in  the  Edin- 
boro  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal.  Some  quo- 
tations from  Dr.  Cross'  paper  will  serve  to  show 
how  thoroughly  conservative  he  was  in  the  treat- 
ment of  the  disease  and  how  much  he  recognized 
the  necessity  for  individualization  in  the  pre- 
scription of  remedial  measures.  The  sheet  an- 
chor was  opium,  but  opium  used  in  conjunc- 
tion with  remedies  especially  indicated  by  the 
patient's  individual  symptoms. 

"That  the  energetic  enforcement  of  the  opium  prac- 
tice when  the  system  is  in  a  state  of  obvious  unprepara- 
tion  or  where  it  is  not  associated  with  suitable  auxil- 
iaries may  force  the  patient  into  a  state  of  stupor  that 
will  terminate  in  death  is  intuitively  evident.  Inde- 
pendently of  every  other  consideration,  this  single  fact 
is  sufficient  to  prove  how  exceedingly  preposterous  that 
precept  is  which  recommends  the  indiscriminate  em- 
ployment of  opium.  It  also  enforces  the  superlative  im- 
portance and  indispensable  necessity  of  attending  closely 
to  the  effects  of  this  drug  as  they  are  in  succession  de- 
veloped. With  blind  and  heedless  impetuosity  to  push 
forward  this  potent  narcotic  until  sleep  is  produced 
without  regard  to  any  other  circumstance,  I  hesitate  not 
to  assert  to  be  the  quintessence  of  quackery.  This  is 
the  more  culpable,  as  it  is  in  the  power  of  the  attentive 
physician  with  some  degree  of  certainty  to  determine 
from  the  condition  of  the  symptoms  that  precede  sleep, 
whether  opium  is  making  a  salutary  or  prejudicial  im- 
pression. We  lay  it  down  as  a  rule  that  if  there  is 
not  a  gradual,  although  it  may  be  an  exceedingly  in- 
considerable amelioration  in  the  symptoms,  the  convic- 
tion should  be  indelibly  impressed  upon  the  mind  of 
the  physician,  that  he  has  been  premature  in  the  exhi- 
bition of  opium.  Perhaps  this  remark  should  be  qual- 
ified.    It  will  always   happen  that  when  a  quantity  of 

130 


opium  sufficient  to  overcome  the  gastric  irritation  has 
been  given  all  the  symptoms  will  be  exasperated.  This 
conclusion  will  not,  therefore,  be  authorized  unless  we 
have  properly  prepared  the  system  and  are  perfectly 
sure  we  have  given  sufficient  doses." 

His  discussion  of  the  value  of  venesection  in 
delirium  tremens  g-ives  probably  the  best  idea 
of  his  broadminded  care  to  treat  the  individual 
suffering  from  the  delirium,  rather  than  the  de- 
lirium itself.  This  discussion  will  serve  at  the 
same  time  to  show  to  what  an  extent  venesec- 
tion had  been  carried  by  some  supposedly  con- 
servative authorities  in  the  treatment  of  deli- 
rium tremens.  The  affection  is,  of  course,  one 
of  those  in  which  phlebotomy  would  seem  to  be 
indicated.  The  violence  of  the  symptoms  and 
their  reference  mainly  to  brain,  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  the  circulation  must  be  relieved  at 
almost  any  cost.  It  is  then  interesting  to  see  how 
modern  in  this  matter  was  Dr.  Cross,  and  the 
fact  that  his  essay  should  be  selected  by  the  prize 
committee  of  the  day  indicates  the  conservative 
temper  of  representative  members  of  the  New 
York  State  Medical  Society  in  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 

"While  there  are  those  who  proscribe  venesection 
altogether  and  others  who  commend  it  guardedly,  there 
are  those  who  wield  the  lancet  with  a  boldness  not 
surpassed  in  the  treatment  of  most  inflammatory  af- 
fections. Thus  Professor  Potter,  whose  high  preten- 
sions as  a  sound  and  successful  practitioner  have  never 
been  questioned,  declared  that,  'in  young  subjects,  and 
even  in  patients  advanced  in  life,  but  recently  attacked, 
we  have  frequently  bled  to  the  amount  of  70  or  80 
ounces,  and  several  times  an  hundred  in  three  or  four 
days.'  In  some  instances  so  energetic  are  the  symptoms 
so  indicative  of  inflammatory  action  that  Professor 
Frank  has  been  induced  to  conclude  that  this  disease 
is  a  peculiar  encephalitis,  and  consequently  in  accord- 
ance with  this  view  of  the  subject  the  treatment  is 
conducted  exclusively  upon  antiphlogistic  principles. 
Here,  however,  the  same  error  has  been  committed  by 
Professor  Frank  that  deserves  such  severe  reprehension 
in  those  who  obstinately  maintain  that  delirium  tremens 
is   invariably   a   disease   purely   asthenic.     A   little   ex- 

131 


perience,  uninfluenced  by  preconceived  opinions,  will 
soon  convince  the  attentive  practitioner  that  while  both 
these  opposing  hypotheses  are  true  to  a  certain  extent 
they  are,  when  designed  to  embrace  all  the  varieties  of 
this  disease,  radically  unfounded.  It  is  this  circum- 
stance which  renders  the  propriety  of  following  their 
precepts  not  only  questionable,  but  absolutely  dangerous. 
For  if  we  should  embrace  the  views  of  those  who  pro- 
scribe the  lancet  entirely,  we  should  doubtless  succeed 
in  some  instances,  but  the  experience  and  success  of 
Professors  Potter,  Frank,  etc.,  afford  conclusive  proof 
that  we  shall  meet  occasionally  with  patients  who  im- 
periously require  venesection  and  that  must  inevitably 
perish  under  the  narcotic  or  narcotico-stimulant  modes 
of  treatment.  An  adoption  of  the  pure  antiphlogistic 
treatment  of  Professor  Frank  would  be  followed  by 
a  greater  mortality  as  there  are  fewer  cases  in  which  the 
lancet  is  admissible  than  in  which  it  is  clearly  and 
incontestibly  proscribed." 

The  fifth  prize  essay  that  has  been  preserved 
is  that  of  Dr.  Benjamin  W.  McCready  of  New 
York,  who  wrote  on  the  influence  of  trades,  pro- 
fessions and  occupations  in  the  United  States, 
in  the  production  of  disease.  His  was  the  prize 
essay  for  the  year  1837.  It  may  be  remarked  in 
passing"  that  this  was  the  first  time  so  far  as  we 
know,  that  the  prize  was  awarded  to  a  New 
York  man.  Kentucky,  Virginia  and  Pennsyl- 
vania had  been  represented  in  the  Hst  of  prize- 
winners, and  it  is  very  evident  that  the  prizes 
were  awarded  entirely  for  the  merit  of  the  essays 
and  not  for  any  personal  or  partial  reasons.  This 
fifth  essay  contains  some  rather  interesting  ma- 
terial, with  regard  to  sanitary  problems  that  are 
even  yet  matters  of  discussion  for  the  medical 
profession.  The  question  of  the  overcrowding 
in  the  tenement  house  districts  of  New  York 
City  is  discussed  just  in  the  same  terms  that 
would  have  been  used  ten  years  ago  on  the  same 
subject,  though  fortunately  recent  legislation  has 
brought  some  amelioration  of  the  worst  condi- 
tions in  this  matter.  The  reasons  for  ill  health 
in  the  tenement  house  districts  is  thus  stated: 

"In  other  cases  the  cupidity  of  landlords  has  tempted 
them  to  build  up  narrow  alleys  with  small  wooden  tene- 

132 


ments  which,  costing  but  little,  and  being  let  to  numer- 
ous families  yield  immense  profits.  The  alley  is  often 
not  more  than  six  feet  wide,  paved  with  round  stones 
and  with  very  insufficient  means  for  draining  off  the 
water.  It  is  not  uncommon  in  such  situations,  to  find 
one  or  two  of  the  apartments  in  each  house  entirely 
underground.  Can  we  wonder  if  in  such  a  state  of 
things  we  find  moral  as  well  as  physical  disease,  vice 
as  well  as  sickness?  Can  we  expect  men  who  live  thus 
to  be  orderly  and  sober,  or  women  to  be  cleanly  and 
domestic?  In  such  situations,  during  the  summer 
months,  diarrhoea  and  dysentery  are  rife,  and  among 
children  fatal.  Scrofula,  in  some  of  its  protean  forms, 
is  frequently  met  with  and  they  form  the  lurking 
places  where  smallpox,  measles  and  scarlet  fever  lie 
covered  under  the  ashes,  or  when  circumstances  are 
favorable,    blaze    up    into    sudden    fury." 

At  the  end  of  Dr.  McCready's  essay  there  is 
a  rather  striking  set  of  passages  in  which  he  dis- 
cusses the  evils  of  the  quack  and  especially  the 
patent  medicine  vender,  and  suggests  the  reasons 
for  the  popularity  of  their  products.  He  has 
caught  the  essence  of  the  idea  in  the  declaration 
that  the  present  popular  errors  in  medicine  are 
always  the  result  of  previous  supposed  knowl- 
edge among  physicians  themselves.  Medical 
theories  not  only  do  harm,  by  satisfying  the  mind 
of  the  physician  for  the  moment  and  thus  pre- 
venting his  inquisitiveness  from  urging  him  to 
investigate  where  he  thinks  he  knows  no  reason 
for  things,  but  they  prove  even  more  harmful  by 
perpetuating  themselves  among  the  populace  for 
at  least  a  generation  or  two  after  they  have  been 
exploded  by  the  regular  practitioners.  This  is 
an  idea  that  such  men  as  Virchow  and  our  own 
Jacobi  have  often  expressed  since,  and  the  signi- 
ficance of  which  all  serious  thinkers  in  medicine 
will  recognize.  Dr.  McCready's  remedy  for  this 
unfortunate  state  of  affairs  would  be  the  spread 
of  real  knowledge.  In  the  seventy-five  years  that 
have  elapsed  since  the  writing  of  this  many  im- 
provements and  advances  in  education  have 
come,  yet  his  words  retain  their  forcefulness  and 
application. 

1.33 


"That  the  present  errors  of  the  vulgar  were  formerly 
the  themes  of  philosophers,  is  an  old  and  trite  observa- 
tion. Most  of  the  vague  and  unfounded  notions  of  the 
public  concerning  the  nature  and  treatment  of  diseases, 
which  embarrass  the  young  practitioner  on  his  entrance 
into  practice,  were  once  the  cherished  doctrines  of  the 
wise  and  learned.  Can  we  do  nothing  to  correct  the 
evil  our  predecessors  have  occasioned?  Can  we  not 
substitute  truth  for  falsehood,  facts  and  reasoning 
founded  on  facts,  for  idle  notions,  and  injurious  hy- 
pothesis? I  would  not  wish  to  instruct  the  community 
in  a  knowledge  of  the  symptoms  and  treatment  of  dis- 
eases— that  w^ere  impossible ;  but  I  would  wish  to  make 
a  knowledge  of  the  laws  and  functions  of  the  living 
body  a  necessary  part  of  a  liberal  education,  and  to 
commimicate  to  all  classes  so  much  information  as  would 
enable  them  to  educate  their  children  and  regulate  their 
diet,  clothing,  exercise  and  habitations.  Something  of 
late  years  has  been  done  to  this  end,  but  much,  very 
much,  remains  to  do,  and  professorships  of  physiology  in 
our  literary  colleges,  and  popular  lectures  and  popular 
books  on  the  same  subjects  for  all  classes,  would  be 
productive  of  benefits  widely  felt  and  as  widely  acknowl- 
edged. Many  of  the  evils  incident  to  the  occupations  of 
civilized  society  would  then  be  remedied,  and  others, 
essentially  alleviated.  Medical  men  are  bound  to  urge 
this  matter  upon  the  public,  not  only  from  motives  of 
general  benevolence,  but  of  private  interest;  for  it 
affords  the  surest  means  of  elevating  the  character  of 
the  profession.  Then  would  the  public  be  enabled  to 
judge  of  the  intelligence  of  their  medical  attendants,  and 
then  in  common  with  the  rest  of  the  community,  would 
the  young  physician  feel  the  truth  of  the  maxim, 
'Knowledge  is  Power.'  " 

Dr.  McCready  has  also  an  excellent  review  of 
the  situation  as  to  quack  medicines  which  unfor- 
tunately has  not  become  an  academic  question 
in  spite  of  all  our  progress  in  educating  the 
masses ;  and  he  thought  the  newspaper  press 
as  responsible  for  it  then  as  we  do  now.  The 
evil  results  to  be  anticipated  from  the  abuse 
of  medicines  are  just  those  that  medical  writers 
of  the  present  day  insist  on. 

'"There  is  an  evil,  which  has  of  late  years  become  of 
excessive  magnitude,  and  which  is  daily  increasing — the 
consumption  of  quack  medicines.  Aided  by  the  immense 
circulation  of  a  cheap  press,  many  of  these  nostrums 
have  obtained  a  sale  that  exceeds  belief.     Few  patients 

1.34 


among  the  lower  classes  now  apply  to  a  physician,  who 
have  not  previously  aggravated  their  complaints  by 
swallowing  numbers  of  these  pretended  specifics,  and  a 
late  resident-physician  of  the  city  hospital  has  informed 
me  that  he  has  met  with  many  cases  of  derangement 
and  irritation  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  stomach 
and  bowels,  caused  solely  by  the  drastic  articles  which 
enter  into  their  composition.  Formed  in  most  instances 
of  irritating  ingredients,  and  directed  to  be  taken  in 
immense  doses,  and  as  infallible  remedies  in  all  cases, 
the  mischief  which  they  do  is  incalculable,  and  unless 
some  stop  be  put  to  the  evil  by  law  or  by  an  enlightened 
public  opinion,  it  will  soon  claim  an  unenviable  pre- 
eminence as  a  cause  of  public  ill  health." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  PHARMACOPEIA. 

Undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  important  prac- 
tical advances  in  American  medicine  was  due  to 
the  movement  initiated  by  the  Medical  Society  of 
the  State  of  New  York  which  finally  led  up  to  the 
establishment  of  the  National  Committee  on  the 
Pharmacopeia  and  the  publication  of  that  work 
for  the  benefit  of  American  physicians.  The 
subject  had  been  hinted  at  several  times,  and 
finally  a  communication  from  the  New  York 
County  Medical  Society  on  the  subject  of  a 
National  Pharmacopeia  was  received  at  the 
twelfth  meeting  of  the  State  Society  and  referred 
to  a  committee  consisting  of  Drs.  Willoughby, 
Patrick  and  Wendell.  This  committee  met  and 
after  discussion  reported  the  following  preamble 
and  resolutions,  which  after  some  discussion  in 
the  open  session  of  the  Society  were  finally 
adopted.  As  they  state  the  reasons  for  the  need 
of  the  action  suggested,  and  contain  some  his- 
torical details  as  to  the  confusion  in  dispensing 
we  give  them  in  full : 

Whereas,  A  uniform  system  of  preparing  and  com- 
pounding medicines,  throughout  the  United  States, 
would  contribute  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  practi- 
tioner, and  obviate  many  existing  sources  of  embarrass- 
ment and  danger ;  and 


Whereas,  Much  diversity  does  now  prevail  in  phar- 
maceutical preparations  in  the  different  sections  and 
States  of  the  Union,  in  consequence  of  the  various  phar- 
macopeias which  are  adopted — such  as  Coxe's  Dis- 
pensatory, the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  Phar- 
macopeia, Thatcher's  Dispensatory,  the  New  York  Hos- 
pital Pharmacopeia,  the  Edinburgh  Dispensatory,  the 
London  Dispensatory,  the  London  Pharmacopeia,  the 
Dublin  Pharmacopeia,  and  Parisian  Pharmacopeia,  etc. 
— which  accounts  for  a  well  known  fact,  that  the 
traveler  gets  a  different  preparation,  under  the  same 
name,  in  almost  every  village,  town  or  city  in  which  he 
may  chance  to  be  indisposed.  This  is  not  the  only  evil ; 
for  so  multifarious  are  the  names  of  medicines,  that 
a  name,  which  is  common  in  one  town,  may  be  unknown 
in  another,  or,  what  is  worse,  may  be  applied  to  a  very 
different  medicine. 

Therefore,  Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  that  an 
American  Pharmacopeia  should  be  formed  for  the  use  of 
the  United  States. 

Resolved,  That  the  several  incorporated  State  medical 
societies,  the  several  incorporated  colleges  of  physicians 
and  surgeons,  or  medical  schools,  and  such  medical 
schools  as  form  a  faculty  in  any  incorporated  university 
or  college  in  the  United  States,  be  respectfully  invited 
to  unite  in  the  formation  of  the  American  Phar- 
macopeia ;  and  in  case  there  should  be  any  State  or 
Territory  in  the  Union  in  which  there  is  no  incorporated 
medical  society,  medical  college,  or  school,  that  volun- 
tary associations  or  physicians  and  surgeons,  in  such 
State  or  Territory,  be  respectfully  invited  to  unite  in  the 
formation  of  this  work. 

Resolved,  That  a  general  convention  be  held  in  the 
city  of  Washington,  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1820, 
to  be  composed  of  delegates  from  the  district  conven- 
tions. 

Resolved,  That  this  Society  do  now  appoint  David 
Hosack,  M.D.,  J.  R.  B.  Rodgers,  M.D.,  Samuel  L. 
Mitchell,  M.D.,  John  Stearns,  M.D.,  John  Watts,  M.D., 
T.  Romeyn  Beck,  M.D.,  Lyman  Spalding,  M.D.,  Wright 
Post,  M.D.  and  Alex.  H.  Stevens,  M.D.,  delegates  to 
meet  in  district  convention,  for  the  purpose  of  forming 
a  Pharmacopeia. 

Resolved,  That  the  delegates  appointed  by  this  Society 
be  a  special  committee  to  correspond  with  all  the 
incorporated  State  medical  societies,  etc.,  in  the  Union, 
and  such  other  influential  medical  men  as  they  may 
deem  proper. 

Resolved,  That  if  a  majority  of  the  incorporated  State 
medical  societies,  incorporated  medical  colleges,  medical 
schools  and  faculties  of  medicine  in  the  United  States, 

136 


approve  of  the  formation  of  an  American  Pharmacopeia, 
that  it  ought  to  be  undertaken. 

Resolved,  That  as  soon  as  it  shall  be  made  known  that 
a  majority  of  the  societies,  etc.,  approve  of  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Pharmacopeia,  that  the  special  committee  of 
correspondence  of  the  Newr  York  Medical  Society  shall 
give  public  notice,  as  well  as  notice  to  all  incorporated 
State  medical  societies,  etc.,  that  an  American  Phar- 
macopeia will  be  formed. 

Resolved,  That  in  order  to  fix  on  times  and  places  for 
holding  the  several  district  conventions,  the  special 
committee  of  correspondence  be  directed  to  request  the 
several  societies,  etc.,  to  name  what  time  and  place  in 
their  opinion,  would  be  most  convenient  for  the 
meeting  of  the  convention  in  this  district ;  and  when 
the  formation  of  a  Pharmacopeia  is  agreed  on,  that 
the  aforesaid  committee  transmit  to  each  society,  etc., 
the  names  of  the  several  places  in  their  district,  and  at 
the  times  which  have  been  mentioned,  and  point  out 
what  time  and  place  have  the  most  votes,  and  submit 
to  the  several  societies,  etc.,  if  such  time  and  place 
would  be  most  convenient. 

Resolved,  That  this  Society  would  propose  the  first 
day  of  June,  A.  D.,  1819,  and  the  City  of  Philadelphia, 
as  a  convenient  time  and  place  for  the  meeting  of  the 
convention  in  the  district  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Middle  States. 

Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  different 
county  societies,  to  raise  money  by  subscription,  or 
otherwise,  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  delegation  to 
the  district  convention. 

At  the  next  annual  meeting  there  was  a  report 
of  progress  of  the  most  encouraging  kind.  Dr. 
Samuel  L.  Mitchell,  one  of  the  committee,  to 
whom  was  referred  the  resolution,  passed  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1818,  to  adopt  measures  to  establish  a 
National  Pharmacopoeia,  made  the  following  re- 
port: 

That  your  committee  have  diligently  attended  to 
the  subject  referred  to  them;  and  they  congratulate 
the  Society  on  the  accession  of  the  requisite  number 
of  Medical  Societies  and  Colleges,  to  the  important 
undertaking  in  forming  such  a  necessary  and  great 
professional  work ;  and  moreover  on  the  prospect  of 
its  eventual  ratification  in  a  manner  which  the  en- 
larged view  of  its  authors  contemplated. 

In   the   following  annual   meeting,    1820,   the 

137 


definite  success  of  the  enterprise  that  had  been 
so  ably  forwarded  by  the  Society  was  announced. 
In  his  annual  address,  as  President,  Dr.  John 
Stearns  referred  with  pardonable  pride  to  the 
successful  termination  of  the  labors  of  the  Phar- 
macopeia Committee.     He  said : 

"I  trust  the  time  is  not  remote  when  the  opinions  of 
American  physicians  will  be  referred  to  as  the  highest 
authorities  in  medicine.  This  event  will  be  accelerated 
by  the  liberality  of  opinion  and  discussion  that  is 
tolerated  in  our  schools,  unshackled  by  the  restraints 
of  authority  imposed  upon  the  graduates  of  the  colleges 
of  Europe.  The  late  effort  to  form  a  National  Phar- 
macopeia, is  a  strong  illustration  of  this  position. 
An  effort  which  has  never  been  equalled,  and  the 
magnitude  of  which  intimidated  many  of  its  ardent 
friends ;  but  which  our  diversified  climate,  abounding 
in  medicinal  plants,  alone  sufficient  for  the  indigenous 
diseases  of  our  country,  urgently  required. 

The  delegates  originally  appointed  by  this  Society  per- 
formed the  duties  assigned  them,  in  the  City  of  New 
York,  and  reported  a  complete  Pharmacopeia  to  the 
District  Convention  of  the  Middle  States,  assembled,  in 
June  last  at  Philadelphia.  The  work  executed  by  this, 
and  the  other  District  Conventions,  held  at  Boston  for 
the  Eastern,  at  Lexington  for  the  Western,  and  at 
Columbia  for  the  Southern  States,  was  reported  to  the 
General  Convention  of  the  United  States,  recently  held 
at  Washington.  From  the  whole  of  which  a  judicious 
and  satisfactory  selection  has  been  made.  It  is,  there- 
fore, with  no  ordinary  satisfaction  that  I  announce  the 
final  completion  of  a  work  which  will  constitute  a  new 
era  in  medical  history.  The  benefits  will  be  extended 
to  every  practitioner,  and  perhaps  to  every  individual 
in  the  United  States.  We  search  the  annals  of  the 
world  in  vain  for  a  precedent. 

From  Maine  to  Georgia,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi, we  behold  the  medical  public,  animated  by  one 
spirit,  merging  all  private  considerations  in  this  grand 
object,  and  spontaneously  congregating  in  State,  Dis- 
trict and  General  United  States  Conventions.  An  inter- 
course of  correspondence,  then  commenced,  have  excited 
the  medical  energies  of  America,  and  will  produce  im- 
portant consequences,  co-extensive  with  our  empire,  and 
durable  as  its  existence." 

138 


CHAPTER  X. 
A  SYSTEM  OF  MEDICAL  ETHICS. 

The  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York 
very  early  concerned  itself  with  questions  of 
ethics.  There  are  examples  of  the  expression  of 
the  feelings  of  the  presidents  of  the  Society,  evi- 
dent reflections  from  those  held  by  the  members, 
even  in  the  early  presidential  addresses.  It  was 
evidently  felt,  however,  that  a  system  of  ethics 
to  serve  as  a  guide  in  doubtful  questions  and  as 
a  manual  of  instructions  for  those  who  are  en- 
tering upon  the  practice  of  the  medical  profes- 
sion to  be  drawn  up.  Accordingly  a  committee 
consisting  of  Drs.  James  R.  Manley  and  John  H. 
Steele,  both  of  whom  v;ere  to  be  afterwards 
presidents  of  the  Society,  and  Dr.  Pascalis,  who 
had  been  a  prominent  member,  were  appointed 
a  committee  for  this  purpose.  They  drew  up  a 
system  of  medical  ethics  which  was  reported  to 
the  Society  in  February,  1823,  and  unanimously 
adopted. 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  this  system  of 
medical  ethics  is  the  lofty  spirit  of  professional 
honor  in  the  relation  of  the  physician  to  brother 
physicians,  to  patients  and  to  the  State  which  it 
breathes.  It  is  a  monument  to  the  lofty  aims  of 
our  forefathers  in  medicine  here  in  New  York 
with  which  every  modern  physician  in  the  State 
should  be  familiar.  While  not  transient  or  radi- 
cal in  its  declarations  it  points  out  with  no  uncer- 
tain language  the  dangers  that  beset  professional 
life,  and  suggests  how  they  may  be  best  avoided. 
There  is  scarcely  a  circumstance  in  the  physi- 
cian's relation  to  others  which  is  not  touched 
upon  and  illuminated  in  this  comparatively  brief 
document.  For  this  reason  and  because  later  so 
much  of  the  history  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York  was  to  be  occupied  with  ques- 
tions of  a  medical  code,  it  has  seemed  only  fit- 
ting to  reprint  this  system  of  medical  ethics  once 
more. 

139 


It  is  interesting  to  find  that,  in  the  same  volume 
of  the  transactions  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  1861,  in  which  this  code  is 
printed,  the  code  of  medical  ethics  of  the  Ameri- 
can Medical  Association,  adopted  May,  1847,  is 
also  republished.  The  reading  of  the  two  codes 
makes  it  clear  that  that  of  the  National  Associa- 
tion was  founded  to  a  considerable  extent  on  the 
system  of  ethics  of  the  New  York  State  Society. 
This  is  not  surprising  if  we  recall  that  the  Ameri- 
can Medical  Association  originated  from  the 
efforts  of  the  State  Society  of  New  York.  While 
there  has  come  considerable  development  in  the 
professional  aspect  of  many  duties  of  physi- 
cians in  the  early  quarter  of  a  century  that  sep- 
arates the  two  documents,  there  is  no  doubt  at 
all  about  the  influence  exerted  by  the  original 
system  of  ethics,  and  no  ethical  document 
adopted  by  any  other  State  Society  had  anything 
like  the  same  influence.  This  is,  of  course,  all 
the  more  interestng  in  the  light  of  the  fact  that 
when  the  further  development  of  medical  ethics 
was  to  come  after  another  fifty  years.  New  York 
was  again  to  be  a  leader  in  the  evolution.  The 
following  is  the  code  of  Medical  Ethics  adopted 
by  the  Society: 

A  SYSTEM  OF  MEDICAL  ETHICS. 

A  System  of  Medical  Ethics  comprises  all  the  moral 
principles  and  regulations  which  should  govern  phy- 
sicians and  surgeons  in  the  exercise  of  their  profes- 
sional avocations  with  the  public  in  general,  in  private 
and  confidential  cases,  as  well  as  in  their  intercourse 
with  other  medical  men,  and  before  magistrates  and 
courts  of  justice. 

Such  a  system  may  be  reduced  to  the  form  of  a  code 
of  medical  police,  exhibiting  maxims  and  precepts  in 
five  respective  divisions  of  medical  ethics,  under  the 
following  heads : 

1st.  Personal  Character  of  Physicians. 

2d.  Quackery. 

3d.  Consultations. 

4th.  Specifications  of  Medical  Police  in  Practice. 

5th.  Forensic  Medical  Police. 

140 


First  Division. 

Personal  Character  of  Physicians. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  determine  which  of  the  three 
learned  professions  in  society  requires  the  most  virtue 
or  the  most  purity  and  perfection  of  personal  char- 
acter. Those  only  can  judge  who  are  themselves  ac- 
quainted with  the  difficulties  to  be  surmounted  in  the 
study  of  medicine  and  surgery,  and  the  labor  and  ex- 
tent of  the  long  course  of  experimental  observation 
which  it  is  necessary  to  pursue,  before  the  confidence 
of  the  public  can  be  attained.  The  life  of  a  physician 
is,  on  the  whole,  a  continual  struggle  against  prejudices 
and  erroneous  habitudes  of  the  mind,  and  not  infre- 
quently against  ingratitude,  exclusive  of  the  personal 
hazard  among  the  sick,  the  fatigue,  and  the  loss  of 
ordinary  comfort  and  rest  which  it  necessarily  involves. 

1.  A  physician  cannot  successfully  pass  through  his 
career  without  the  aid  of  much  fortitude  of  mind,  and 
a  religious  sense  of  all  his  obligations  of  conscience, 
honor  and  humanity.  His  personal  character  should 
therefore  be  that  of  a  perfect  gentleman,  and,  above  all, 
be  exempt  from  vulgarity  of  manners,  habitual  swear- 
ing, drunkenness,  gambling,  or  any  species  of  debauch- 
ery, and  contempt  for  religious  practices  and  feelings. 

2.  The  confidence  of  the  public  cannot  be  awarded 
to  a  physician  who  has  rendered  himself  notorious  for 
felony  or  misdemeanor,  or  who  has  incurred  penalties 
for  crimes. 

3.  A  physician  in  indigent  circumstances  is  not  per- 
mitted to  embrace  or  exercise  any  business  which  would 
degrade  the  character  of  his  profession,  such  as  keeping 
a  tavern,  lottery  offices,  gambling,  victualing  or  play- 
house. Any  low  trade  or  servile  mercenary  occupation 
is  incompatible  with  the  dignity  and  independence  of 
medical  avocations.  In  such  extreme  and  derogatory 
situations  a  physician  forfeits  the  privilege  of  his  pro- 
fession. 

Second  Division. 

The  importance  of  the  medical  profession  requires 
that  it  should  be  exercised  with  fidelity  to  its  scientific 
principles  and  approved  doctrines,  with  honor  to  all 
its  members,  and  with  justice  and  humanity  to  the  sick. 
A  departure  from  the  above  principles  constitutes 

Quackery, 
which    degrades    the    medical    character    by    ignorance, 
artifice,   unapproved   methods   of   practice,    and   by   the 
use  of  remedies  dangerous  to  life. 

4.  Any  physician  or  surgeon  who  divides  his  respon- 
sibility with  a  known  quack  and  associates  with  him 
in  medical  consultations,   receiving  a  fee  or  the  usual 

141 


charges  for  such  services,  or  practices  with  nostrums, 
secret  medicines,  or  patent  remedies,  is  guilty  of  quack- 
ery. 

5.  The  right  of  a  patent  medicine  being  incompatible 
with  the  duty  and  obligation  enjoined  upon  physicians 
to  advance  the  knowledge  of  curing  diseases,  it  consti- 
tutes quackery  and  cannot  be  professionally  counten- 
anced. 

6.  Public  advertisements,  or  private  cards,  inviting 
customers  afflicted  with  defined  diseases ;  promising 
radical  cures ;  engaging  for  no  cure  no  pay ;  offering 
advice  and  medicines  to  the  poor,  gratis ;  and  producing 
certificates  and  signatures  even  from  respectable  in- 
dividuals in  support  of  the  advertiser's  skill  and  success, 
and  the  like,  are  all  absolutely  acts  of  quackery,  which 
medical  institutions  should  always  repress,  and  punish 
by  the  rejection  or  expulsion  of  those  who  commit  them. 

Third  Division. 
Consultations. 

All  the  individuals  composing  the  colleges  and  medical 
societies  constituted  by  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  are 
b}'  them,  qualified  physicians  and  surgeons.  The  two 
professions  of  medicine  and  surgery  are  blended  by  the 
law,  both  in  the  schools  and  in  practice.  The  examina- 
tions by  the  censors  of  the  County  and  State  societies  of 
candidates  for  the  degree  of  license,  and  by  the  pro- 
fessors of  colleges  for  the  degree  of  doctor  are  equally 
directed  to  embrace  in  their  exercises  the  elements  and 
doctrines  of  both  sciences,  establishing  thereby  the  candi- 
date's proficiency,  not  only  in  medicine,  but  in  surgery. 
There  are  no  degrees  of  qualifications,  nor  are  different 
rights  assigned  to  the  members  of  the  same  profession, 
but  such  as  result  from  their  individual  choice,  skill  and 
fitness.  Practical  surgery  is  more  properly  attended  to 
by  the  younger  members,  but  the  more  experienced 
should  be  deemed  competent  to  direct  or  inspect  either 
the  theoretical  or  practical  departments. 

These  remarks  are  offered,  to  show  that  the  distinction 
frequently  adopted  in  practice,  and  especially  in  consul- 
tation, between  physicians  and  surgeons,  confining  each 
other  to  surgical  or  medical,  external  or  internal  cases, 
has  no  foundations  in  propriety,  and,  if  adhered  to, 
arises  from  the  wish  to  indulge  in  personal  or  interested 
motives.  It  is  admitted,  however,  that  when  the  ques- 
tion is  merely  to  perform  some  operative  process  a 
practical  surgeon  should  be  selected  in  preference;  but 
this  exception  is  only  applicable,  when  a  phj'^sician  de- 
clines (on  such  accounts  as  he  may  think  proper)  to 
perform  a  necessary  operation,  and  by  no  means  invali- 
dates the  principle  established  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
in  conformity  to  medical  ethics. 

142 


7-  A  consultation  of  one  or  many  physicians  is  like  a 
deliberating  committee,  over  which  a  senior  in  age  or 
experience  presides,  each  one,  however,  being  equally 
responsible  for  the  trust  assigned  to  him,  of  the  cure  or 
relief  of  the  patient.  The  attending  physician  is  exclu- 
sively charged  with  the  execution  of  the  treatment  from 
day  to  day,  nor  is  any  consulting  physician  ever  allowed 
to  visit  or  inspect,  unless  it  be  with  his  colleagues,  or 
by  agreement,  or  in  cases  of  emergency. 

When  a  surgical  operation  is  required,  it  devolves 
upon  the  senior  practitioner  of  surgery  in  the  consulta- 
tion, or  one  especially  appointed. 

8.  A  diversity  of  opinion  in  consultation  is  to  be 
regretted;  for,  if  unavoidable,  it  must  cause  much  delay 
and  many  inconveniences  before  a  medical  umpire  can 
be  obtained.  It  is  needless  to  point  out  what  a  correct 
sense  of  delicacy  will  in  this  sense  require  from  a  gentle- 
man who  in  spite  of  his  opposition  finds  himself  in  the 
rninority;  he  should  politely  retire  from  the  consulta- 
tion, and  if  he  be  the  family  physician,  he  should  consist- 
ently resign  his  deliberate  vote. 

g.  A  great  reserve,  and  even  secrecy  respecting  the 
deliberations  of  a  consultation,  is  indispensible.  No 
communication  is  to  be  made  to  the  patient  or  friends 
but  by  unanimous  order  or  consent ;  because,  whatever 
opinions  are  emitted  become  subject  to  frequent  altera- 
tions or  inversions  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  many 
become  a  source  of  contradiction  perhaps  injurious  to 
some  of  the  physicians  in  attendance. 

10.  It  is  the  duty  of  a  consulting  physician  to  take 
care  that  his  visits  be  not  multiplied  without  necessity. 
He  is,  through  courtesy,  at  liberty  to  decide  when  to 
discontinue  his  attendance.  A  consulting  physician, 
however,  cannot  be  dismissed  without  the  consent  of 
the  patient  as  well  as  the  attending  physician. 

11.  Physicians  are  justly  censurable  if  their  patient 
be  in  danger  and  they  do  not  in  time  procure  advice 
and  responsibility  beside  their  own.  Whatever  be  the 
motive  that  induces  them  to  dispense  with  a  consulta- 
tion, they  certainly  may  expose  their  reputation  by  an 
incorrect  judgment  or  misapprehension  of  their  pa- 
tient's case  and  weaken  the  confidence  reposed  in  them. 
And  a  physician  does  not  acquit  himself  correctly  to- 
ward his  patient  if  he  does  not  benefit  him  with  the 
best  advice  that  can  be  procured.  Poverty  or  the  nar- 
rowness of  means  to  remunerate  an  additional  prac- 
titioner is  no  reasonable  excuse,  for  he  can  scarcely 
deserve  the  name  of  a  practising  physician  who  can  not 
find  at  least  one  medical  friend  to  consult  when  the 
life  and  limb  of  a  fellow  being  is  in  jeopardy. 

143 


Fourth  Division. 
Specifications  of  Medical  Ethics  in  Practice. 

12.  Physicians  are  often  requested  to  declare  to  the 
patient  his  danger  and  to  urge  his  observance  of  re- 
ligious and  testamentary  acts ;  but  medical  aid  in  ex- 
tremely dangerous  cases  would  seldom  be  of  any  avail 
if,  in  place  of  composing  the  mind  of  the  sufferer,  phy- 
sicians were  to  doom  it  to  despondency  and  despair. 
Such  services  are  incompatible  with  their  duty  of 
administering  hope  and  comfort,  without  the  influence 
of  which  many  doubtful  cases  of  disease  might  at  once 
become  positively  fatal. 

To  a  Christian  minister  alone,  or  to  some  other  au- 
thorized person,  therefore,  appertains  the  task  of  dis- 
closing to  the  patient  his  alarming  situation  and 
preparing  his  mind  to  meet  with  composure  that  event, 
which  to  his  friends  may  appear  inevitable. 

Physicians  should  not  interfere  in  the  final  settlement 
of  their  patients'  worldly  affairs.  These  are  eventually 
composed  of  various  family  claims  and  pretensions, 
and  a  physician's  interference  in  their  distribution  may 
be  taxed  as  arising  from  interested  motives  or  be 
thought  by  those  concerned  to  be  a  disgraceful  viola- 
tion of  the  confidence  reposed  on  his  humane  functions 
as  medical  attendant. 

In  order  to  protect  himself  and  to  place  his  name  be- 
yond the  reach  of  any  implication  he  should, 

1st.  Give  timely  and  explicit  information  of  the 
dangerous  situation  of  the  patient  to  those  who  have 
the  best  right  to  advise  him  in  his  religious  and  tem- 
poral concerns. 

2d.  He  should  inform  them  of  the  possibility  of  a 
change  in  the  prognostic  in  order  to  prevent  any  relax- 
ation of  care  and  attention  on  the  part  of  nurses  and 
others,  that  no  chance  of  the  patient's  recovery  be  lost 
through   neglect. 

3d.  The  physician  in  such  a  case,  should  continue  his 
personal  attendance,  which  is  the  more  proper,  as  he 
entertains  or  has  acknowledged  some  hope  of  a  favorable 
change;  should  he  be  dismissed  from  pecuniary  motives, 
his  responsibility  nevertheless  requires  a  friendly  or 
gratuitous  attention. 

13.  It  is  not  intended  in  this  system  of  medical  ethics 
to  instruct  physicians  and  surgeons  upon  every  felonious 
act  of  infanticide,  murder,  etc.,  for  which  the  penal 
statutes  of  this  country  have  made  sufficient  provision. 
It  is  incumbent  upon  medical  authorities  to  consider, 
condemn  and  punish  as  criminal,  such  acts  of  medical 
practitioners  as  offend  the  respective  obligations  of  mar- 
ried persons,  or  the  chastity  and  modesty  of  the  youth 
of  both  sexes.    This  restrictive  definition  is  to  be  applied : 

144 


1st.  To  the  personal  conduct  of  medical  men,  who 
abuse  the  confidence  of  families  and  become  exposed  to 
legal  damages  for  crim.  con.,*  or  seduction,  &c. 

2d.  To  those  who,  with  a  view  of  curing  diseases  or 
correcting  certain  natural  imperfections,  prescribe  reme- 
dies or  advise  remedial  means  that  must  interfere  with 
matrimonial  rights  and  the  observance  of  a  chaste  and 
moral    life. 

The  scope  of  opinion  on  this  subject  may  be  wide, 
and  the  pretexts  in  palliation  numerous,  but  the  depend- 
ence of  the  public  upon  our  labors,  for  the  preser\-ation 
of  health,  and  the  cure  of  diseases,  ought  to  be  held 
sacred ;  nor  can  confidence  be  granted  to  a  profession 
that  should  allow  any  of  its  members  to  violate  hos- 
pitality, to  promote  immorality,  or  to  be  accessory  to 
vicious  and  criminal  conduct. 

14.  Honor  and  justice  particularly  forbid  a  medical 
practitioner's  infringing  upon  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  another  who  is  legally  accredited,  and  whose  char- 
acter is  not  impeached  by  public  opinion,  or  civil  or 
medical  authority ;  whether  it  be  a  native  or  a  stranger 
settled  in  the  country.  There  is  no  difference  between 
physicians  but  such  as  results  from  their  personal  tal- 
ents, medical  acquirements,  or  their  experience ;  and  the 
public,  from  the  sen'ices  they  receive,  are  the  natural 
judges  of  these  intellectual  advantages.  In  all  proba- 
bility, ever>'  good  physician  would  receive  a  merited 
share  of  patronage,  were  there  not  many  who  usurp  a 
portion  through  artful  insinuations,  and  slanders  of 
others,  or  combinations  against,  or  improper  interfer- 
ences with  the  more  worthy  practitioner.  Any  physician 
thus  molested  or  injured  is  justifiable  in  applying  for 
redress  to  the  county  medical  society  to  which  he  is 
attached. 

15.  .A.  physician  is  not  to  visit  a  patient  placed  under 
another  practitioner's  care,  without  previous  and  osten- 
sible friendship  or  business,  nor  without  first  mforming 
the  attending  physician;  if  then  he  thinks  it  proper  to 
advise  he  may  do  it,  but  it  must  be  in  conformity  to  the 
rules  of  consultation  as  above  explained. 

16.  Libelous  attacks  among  physicians  are  no  doubt 
subject  to  the  same  mode  of  redress  by  damages  as  the 
law  points  out  to  other  citizens ;  but  we  hold  that 
matters  of  libel  include  professional  and  practical  acts, 
whether  true  or  false,  published  or  stated  to  any  person 
who  is  not  a  competent  judge,  with  a  view  to  injure 
the  professional  reputation  of  a  physician.  This  identical 
principle  was  adopted  by  the  Suprehe  Court  of  Penn- 

*C riminalis  convcrsatio.  The  apparent  hesitation  to  use  the 
word  adulter  here,  and  the  employment  of  the  Latin  legal  term 
instead,  and  that  onlj'  in  abbreviation,  is  an  amusing  comment  on 
a   certain   prudery   of  the  time. 

10  145 


sylvania,  in  the  trial  of  Benj.  Rush  vs.  Wm.  Cobbett, 
alias  Porcupine,  in  which  a  verdict  of  $4,000  damages  was 
awarded  to  the  plaintiff  for  a  libel  founded  on  a 
malicious  representation  of  the  plaintiff's  practice,  made 
to  the  public  by  the  defendant. 

17.  If  medical  controversies  are  brought  before  the 
public  in  newspapers  or  pamphlets,  by  contending  medi- 
cal writers,  and  give  rise  to,  or  contain  assertions  or 
insinuations  injurious  to  the  personal  character  or  pro- 
fessional qualifications  of  the  parties,  such  papers  are 
unquestionably  disreputable  to  the  medical  community; 
for  those  who  should  be  foremost  in  the  pursuit  of 
truth  ought  to  be  the  last  to  set  an  example  of  an 
illiberal,  indecorous  and  revengeful  deportment,  so  con- 
trary to  what  is  expected  from  literary  and  scientific 
gentlemen.  Such  papers  are  therefore  to  be  reported  by 
the  censors  to  their  respective  county  medical  societies, 
and  the  authors  are  liable  to  such  punishment  as  the 
case  may  require. 

It  is  a  matter  of  justice,  necessity  and  propriety,  that 
the  business  of  a  physician  and  surgeon  should  be  al- 
ways considered  of  a  confidential  nature.  Even  secrecy 
in  certain  circumstances,  as  will  be  explained  hereafter, 
is  the  privilege  of  the  faculty,  and  inviolable  even  in  a 
court  of  justice.  In  ordinary  practice,  common  sense, 
decency  and  delicacy  should  in  familiar  conversation 
with  females  and  persons  uninstructed  in  medicine,  al- 
ways exclude  such  topics  as  patients,  diseases,  remedies, 
operations  and  the  like.  A  display  of  terrific  and 
wonderful  relations  and  diseases,  remedies,  wounds, 
operations  and  cures,  is  frequently  indulged  in,  no  doubt, 
dd  captandum,  yet  in  most  cases  they  produce  but  an 
equivocal  admiration  for  the  narrator,  and  prove,  beside, 
his  very  imperfect  knowledge  of  human  nature.  Those 
who  are  not  familiar  with  the  subjects  of  medical  art 
and  study,  are  liable  to  draw  mistaken  and  contradictory 
inferences  from  what  they  hear  concerning  them. 
Hence,  many  people  suppose  that  a  physician  is  an  un- 
feeling man;  and  assimilate  a  good  surgeon  to  a  butcher. 
The  more  talk,  therefore,  the  more  numerous  the  mis- 
representations set  afloat,  and  the  greater  the  diffidence, 
distrust  or  disrespect  excited. 

18.  The  exposure  of  the  nature  of  the  complaint, 
which  a  physician  is  called  upon  to  judge  or  cure,  sub- 
jecting the  patient  to  public  shame  or  impeaching  his 
moral  character,  is  an  unpardonable  breach  of  medical 
ethics. 

19.  "The  poor,"  says  Boerhaave,  "are  the  best  cus- 
tomers, because  God  will  be  the  paymaster."  Instead  of 
fee,  they  give  in  exchange  the  benefit  of  experience,  of 
useful  observation,  and  subsequently  the  gratification  of 
successful   advice,   which   is  more   exactly   followed  by 

146 


them  than  by  the  rich,  who  too  often  spoil  the  best  direc- 
tions by  their  whimsical  notions  and  love  of  comfort.  The 
most  lucrative  and  extended  patronage  a  physician  can 
enjoy,  far  from  being  an  honorable  pretext  for  not 
affording  some  attention  to  the  poor,  stands  as  a  proof 
of  his  selfishness  or  want  of  humanity. 

20.  In  urgent  cases  of  sickness,  or  of  injuries  occa- 
sioned by  accidents,  a  call  for  medical  or  surgical  help 
should  be  obeyed  immediately,  unless  such  compliance 
be  to  the  detriment  of  some  other  sufferer.  It  often 
happens  in  such  cases  that  many  physicians,  and  more 
than  are  required,  meet  on  the  spot.  Courtesy  then 
assigns  the  patient  to  the  first  physician  or  surgeon 
who  arrives,  and  if  he  should  want  assistance  he  has  a 
right  to  request  it  from  a  physician  or  practical  sur- 
geon present,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  case.  But 
if  the  physician  or  surgeon  who  usually  attends  the 
family  or  patient  be  of  the  number  then  the  present 
urgent  case  is  assigned  to  him. 

In  the  event  of  concurring  attendance  of  many  med- 
ical gentlemen  no  fee  is  to  be  exacted  for  the  trouble 
of  coming,  unless  called  upon  by  some  authorized 
person.  An  accidental  injury  is  distress,  and  help  for 
a  fellow  being  in  distress  is  claimed  by  the  laws  of 
nature.* 

21.  The  fees  for  the  compensation  of  medical  services 
are  regulated  by  the  value  of  currency  and  the  price  of 
necessaries  in  different  countries  and  cities ;  by  the 
customs  approved  and  established  among  experienced 
and  reputable  practitioners,  and  sometimes  by  a  re- 
corded rate  of  charges  such  as  individuals  belonging 
to  any  trade  or  profession  adopted  by  general  consent. 
Public  opinion  in  civilized  nations  and  among  the  more 
enlightened  classes  of  society  will  always  highly  esti- 
mate and  liberally  compensate  medical  services. 

A  strict  sense  of  justice  and  honor  towards  each  fel- 
low member  of  the  profession  should  prevent  a  phy- 
sician from  undervaluing  his  services  by  items  and 
charges  in  his  bill  beneath  the  customary  rate  with  a 
view  to  draw  patronage  by  exciting  comparisons.  A 
practitioner  may  settle  his  demands  with  his  patrons 
on  whatever  terms  he  pleases,  but  he  has  no  right  to 
make  the  low  charge  an  established  usage  to  the 
prejudice  of  his  brethren.  The  reputation  of  a  cheap 
doctor,  after  all,  is  neither  dignified  nor  enviable. 

*pr.  Gregory  says  (p.  179)  "that  under  such  circumstances, 
considerations  of  benevolence,  humanity  and  gratitude  are  wholly 
set  aside:  for  when  disputes  arise,  they  must  be  suspended  or 
extinguished;  and  the  question  at  issue  can  alone  be  decided  on 
the  'principle  of  commutative  justice.'  If  a  physician  would 
therefore  contend  for  remuneration,  it  could  not  be  as  a  medical 
fee,  but  an  indemnity  only  for  the  expenses  of  transporting  him- 
self there,  where  he  might  be  wanted.  The  question  is  the  more 
easily  settled,  as  it  has  no   further  reference  to  medical  service." 


Others  will  follow  quite  a  contrary  method.  They 
will  place  an  exorbitant  value  on  their  time  and  labor 
and  exact  oppressive  demands  for  their  services.  The 
conduct  of  such  has  a  very  injurious  influence  upon 
the  lower  and  middle  classes  of  society,  who,  needing 
medical  aid,  are  deterred  from  applying  to  any  phy- 
sician lest  they  should  incur  ruinous  charges.  These 
expensive  doctors  should  be  reminded  that  whenever  a 
person  pays  a  bill  which  he  thinks  extravagant  and 
unreasonable,  he  easily  repays  himself  and  gratifies  his 
vanity  if  not  his  resentment  by  divulging  how  much 
money  he  has  been  willing  to  bestow ;  what  liberality 
he  has  exercised,  or  to  what  imposition  he  has  been 
exposed. 

Some  physicians  more  intent  on  acquiring  wealth  than 
a  good  name  exact  from  their  patients  their  charges, 
whether  great  or  small,  with  unrelenting  severity,  re- 
fusing time  to  procure  the  necessary  means,  often  hav- 
ing recourse  to  law  suits,  disregarding  the  plea  of  low 
circumstances,  or  absolute  want,  thus  creating  much 
distress ;  such  conduct  is  as  disreputable  to  the  phy- 
sician as  it  is  disgraceful  to  humanity,  for  the  highest 
aim  of  the  profession  is  to  reach  its  utmost  requisitions. 
These  extortioners,  as  they  dishonor  the  medical  pro- 
fession by  a  single  act  of  such  oppression,  deserve  a 
public  reprimand,  if  not  a  prompt  expulsion  from  their 
county  medical  society. 

Whenever  a  physician  is  reduced  to  obtain  his  pro- 
fessional fees  by  compulsory  measures,  it  is  his  first 
dut\-  to  propose,  and  to  refer  the  settlement  of  the 
matter    in    contention    by    a    reference    to    arbitrators. 

22.  It  is  enjoined  in  the  sacred  obligations  which 
Hippocrates  imposed  upon  the  pupils  of  the  noble 
science  of  medicine  and  surgery,  which  is  also  the 
model  of  the  like  engagement  offered  to  the  candidates 
for  graduation  in  this  and  other  countries,  that  they 
shall  respect  and  assist  their  preceptors  and  mas- 
ters, their  seniors  by  experience  or  age,  and  shall 
contribute  as  far  as  in  their  power,  to  the  honor, 
improvement  and  utility  of  their  professions.  Ac- 
cording to  this  precept,  physicians  and  surgeons  have 
something  more  to  do,  than  to  procure  their  livelihood. 
As  the}-  are  indebted  to  the  labors,  talents  and  experience 
of  their  predecessors  in  the  healing  art  for  all  that  con- 
stitutes its  admirable  bodj-  of  doctrine,  so  present  and 
future  generations  look  to  them  for  some  additional 
improvement,  because  much  can  yet  be  done  to  extend 
its  usefulness.  This  obligation  is  unbecomingly  violated 
by  many  physicians  who  pretend  to  eminence ;  they 
estrange  themselves  from  medical  associations — never 
have  any  observation  or  improvement  to  communicate — 
their  degree  of  skill  and  experience  always  remains  un- 


known  and  mysterious — they  screen  themselves  from  sci- 
entific labors  and  controversies ;  and,  if  competent,  never 
contribute  by  any  effort,  however  small,  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  medical  character.  Such  practitioners, 
although  they  are  frequently  popular  and  wealthy,  are, 
nevertheless,  only  comparable  to  drones  in  the  bee- 
hive; medical  associations  should  refuse  to  confer  upon 
them  offices,  appointments,  or  even  employments  in  coni- 
mittees ;  on  the  principle  that  proofs  are  wanting  of  their 
talent,  zeal,  judgment  and  professional  emulation. 

Fifth  Division. 
Forensic  Medical  Police. 

23.  There  are  numerous  accidents  and  offenses,  the 
nature  and  degree  of  criminality  of  which  are  determined 
by  medical  opinion.  Human  passions  daily  occasion 
acts  of  violence  which  fall  under  the  cognizance  of 
public  justice;  and  diseases  of  the  mind,  whether 
arising  from  vice,  intemperance,  sickness  or  accident, 
have  also  their  share  of  influence  in  the  commission  of 
crime ;  and  often  lead  their  unfortunate  victims  to 
suicide  and  murder.  Crimes  so  originating  could  be 
perpetrated  in  ways  so  disguised  as  to  conceal  the  author, 
or  the  means  by  which  they  were  accomplished,  were  it 
not  that  juries  can  be  assisted  by  medical  men  in 
evidence  related  to  physiology.  A  physician  should  al- 
ways be  in  readiness  to  answer  in  these  judicial  inquisi- 
tions, and  to  give  an  opinion,  on  facts  referred  to  his 
judgment,  according  to  the  approved  practice  of  medi- 
cine and  surgerj',  as  far  as  these  are  ascertained. 
Ignorance  or  an  imperfect  knowledge  upon  matters 
which  place  life,  honor  and  innocence  in  a  fatal  pre- 
dicament, is  unpardonable,  and  should  subject  any  phy- 
sician, so  illiterate,  to  disqualification  for  the  privileges 
of  his  profession. 

24,  To  well  instructed  physicians  only  two  rules  need 
be  recommended.  The  one  relating  to  their  conduct 
when  they  are  called  upon  to  give  professional  evidence ; 
and  the  other,  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  secrecy 
which  they  are  bound  to  maintain  in  relation  to  their 
patients. 

1st.  When  physicians,  engaged  in  the  decision  of  a 
forensic  question,  are  unbiassed  by  the  parties,  and  have 
no  interest  for  plaintiff  or  defendant  (being  well  in- 
formed of  all  the  facts  alleged  in  evidence),  thej'  have 
only  to  decide  by  known  medical  principles,  and,  there- 
fore, can  rarely  disagree.  It  is  their  dutj'  to  obtain 
everj'  possible  information  upon  the  case,  and,  before 
giving  in  their  declaration,  candidly  and  conscientiously 
canvass  each  other's  opinions,  so  that  erroneous  ideas 

149 


may  be  removed,  and  information  participated.* 
Two  or  more  physicians,  on  one  side  of  the  question, 
should  in  the  same  manner  freely  communicate,  in  order 
to  guard  against  versatile  and  contradictory  declarations, 
for  which  the  trivial  sarcasm,  "doctors  differ,"  is  no  ex- 
cuse, and  they  always  invalidate  their  opinions,  author- 
ity, decision  and  respectability. 

2d.  The  second  rule  is  that  the  secrecy  upon  facts 
with  which  physicians  become  professionally  acquainted, 
or  invited  to  ascertain ;  such  as,  whether  an  apparent 
pregnancy  be  real ;  the  gestation  and  birth  of  a  child ; 
its  parentage,  color  and  age;  the  judgment  and  treat- 
ment of  syphilitic  and  gonorrhoeal  diseases ;  the  able 
or  disabled  state  of  a  person,  in  limb  and  constitution; 
the  fallacy  of  virginity  and  other  circumstances,  to 
the  confession  of  which  a  degree  of  shame,  and  the 
idea  of  exposure  are  attached,  and  which  are  never 
mentioned  but  with  an  engagement  to  secrecy. 

This  duty  has  been  defined  by  comparing  it  to  that 
of  ^the  Catholic  confessional,  which  admits  of  no  dis- 
closures except  in  cases  of  treason  or  murder.f 

This  inference  has  been  acknowledged  by  the  judi- 
ciary of  New  York,  and  in  its  application  to  medical 
matters  admitted  by  that  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year 
1800.J 

The  Revised  Statutes  of  our  State  have,  however, 
prescribed  the  duty  of  the  physician  on  this  point.  In 
the  second  volume  (page  406)  is  the  following  enact- 
ment: 

"No  person  duly  authorized  to  practice  physic  and 
surgery  shall  be  allowed  to  disclose  any  information 
which  he  may  have  acquired  in  attending  any  patient 
in  a  professional  character  and  which  information  was 
necessary  to  enable  him  to  prescribe  for  such  patient 
as  physician,  or  to  do  any  act  for  him  as  a  surgeon." 


*When  two  or  more  gentlemen  of  the  faculty  are  to  offer 
their  opinion  or  testimony,  it  would  sometimes  tend  to  obviate 
contrariety,  if  they  were  to  confer  freely  with  each  other,  be- 
fore their  public  examination. — T.  Percival,  Med.  Ethics,  ch.  4, 
p.   107. 

tThe  sacred  duty  or  privilege  of  a  Catholic  priest  not  compel- 
lable to  disclose  the  secrets  of  auricular  confession  was  main- 
tained by  a  decision  of  the  Court  of  Sessions  of  New  York,  14th 
of  June.  1813,  in  the  case  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  K.,  refusing  his  tes- 
timony in  a  matter  of  felony.  Vid.  Cathol.  quest,  report,  by 
Wm.   Sampson,  Esq. 

tMany  persons  would  rather  suffer  or  die,  than  be  exposed  to 
shame  or  disgrace  from  the  complaints  they  are  laboring  under. 
It  is  a  law  of  nature  that  they  should  seek  for  cure  or  relief, 
and  be  protected  by  professional  secrecy,  even  if  a  matter  of 
prosecution  should  arise  therefrom. 

ISO 


CHAPTER  XI. 
HONORARY  DOCTORS  OF  MEDICINE. 

The  Medical  Society  of  New  York  soon  came 
to  the  realization  that  many  of  its  members  who 
had  entered  into  the  practice  of  medicine  under 
the  old  regime,  by  which  study  with  a  physician 
and  examination  before  a  Committee  of  a  Medical 
Society  were  sufficient  for  a  license,  would  wish 
to  possess  the  degree  of  Doctor  in  Medicine. 
Many  of  these  men  had  in  the  course  of  long 
years  of  practice  shown  their  thorough  fitness  for 
such  a  degree  and  had  kept  themselves  con- 
stantly abreast  of  what  was  latest  and  best  in 
medical  progress.  For  the  sake  of  these  men 
whose  early  opportunities  had  not  allowed  them 
to  obtain  a  degree  in  course  in  a  regularly  con- 
stituted medical  school,  the  Society  appointed  a 
committee  at  the  annual  meeting  of  1826  to  ask 
the  privilege  of  selecting  certain  physicians  each 
year  and  presenting  their  names  to  the  Board  of 
Regents  of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New 
York  for  the  Honorary  Degree  of  Doctor  in 
Medicine. 

The  Committee  presented  to  the  Regents  the 
following  memorial  which  was  drawn  up  by  Dr. 
T.  Romeyn  Beck : 

To  the  Honorable  the  Regents  of  the  University: 

The  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  now 
in  session,  have,  in  the  course  of  their  deliberations, 
been  induced  to  address  your  honorable  body  on  a  sub- 
ject which  they  deem  of  some  interest  to  the  profession 
that  they  represent. 

It  will  be  readily  understood  that  medical  education 
during  the  last  thirty  years  has  been  not  only  increasing 
in  importance,  but  also  becoming  more  and  more  dif- 
fused. The  number  of  individuals  who  have  availed 
themselves  of  its  advantages  has  greatly  augmented, 
and  we  cannot  present  a  more  striking  proof  of  this 
than  the  fact  that  in  1796  there  were  only  five  medical 
schools  in  the  United  States,  with  one  or  two  hundred 
pupils,  whereas  at  present  there  are  seventeen  medical 
schools,  with  two  thousand  pupils  attending  them. 

151 


The  results  of  such  a  state  of  things  are  favorable  to 
the  cause  of  general  education,  and  through  it  to  that  of 
liberty  and  civilization. 

The  medical  profession,  which  in  every  European 
country  has  held  a  distinguished  rank  in  science,  prom- 
ises to  take  the  same  stand  in  this  favored  country,  and 
thus  in  a  small  degree  to  repay  the  benefits  it  derives 
from  the  institutions  devoted  to  its  prosperity. 

But  while  the  effects  of  extended  medical  education 
are  so  benign  and  useful,  there  are  some  minor  and 
contingent  evils  attendant  on  its  rapid  diffusion.  One 
of  these  has  come  under  the  notice  and  appears  to  de- 
serve the  attention  of  the  Society. 

The  course  of  medical  education  has  varied  greatly 
during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  that  period  it  was  generally  the  custom  (with, 
however,  exceptions)  to  complete  the  required  term  of 
study  in  the  office  of  some  respectable  practitioner,  and 
then  in  a  very  small  proportion  of  cases,  if  pecuniary 
and  other  circumstances  favored,  to  attend  lectures  at 
some  of  the  widely  scattered  medical  institutions.  The 
preliminary  attendance  for  the  degree  of  doctor  of 
medicine  was  expensive;  the  time  to  be  consumed  in 
its  attainment  was  deemed  too  valuable ;  and  as  it  was 
not  sought  for  except  among  the  residents  of  our 
larger  and  more  populous  cities,  so  its  absence  was  not 
considered  as  a  mark  of  the  want  of  medical  knowledge. 
The  number  of  gentlemen  who  held  the  degree  of  M.D. 
in  this  State  thirty  years  ago  probably  did  not  exceed 
thirty. 

Now,  however,  from  the  number  of  medical  schools 
and  the  requisition  of  the  laws  throughout  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  United  States  demanding  attendance  as 
a  preliminary  requisite  for  the  practice  of  medicine  and 
surgery,  and  above  all  from  the  force  of  public  opinion, 
which  justly  views  a  proper  education  as  indispensable 
in  this  as  in  every  other  profession,  nearly  two-thirds 
of  the  medical  students  in  the  United  States  attend  lec- 
tures, and  of  these  a  number  every  year  obtain  the 
degree  of  doctor  of  medicine.  They  go  into  practice 
and  settle  by  the  side  of  those  who  have  only  a  license, 
although  the  latter  in  their  day  complied  with  all  the 
legal  requisitions,  availed  themselves  of  all  the  advan- 
tages which  their  institution  at  that  time  permitted  to 
them,  and  have  since,  in  many  instances,  pursued  the 
profession  with  honor  to  themselves  and  benefit  to  the 
community. 

That  some  unpleasant  feeling  should  result  from  this 
state  of  things  is  natural.  True,  it  is  a  consequence  of 
the  improved  state  of  medical  education,  but  it  some- 
times operates  unfavorably  not  only  on  that,  but  also 
on   individuals   who  are  thus  placed   in   contact.     The 

152 


young  man  with  the  degree  of  doctor  of  medicine  may 
presume  on  his  newly  obtained  honors,  while  the  aged 
physician,  practising  under  a  license  only,  may  be  dis- 
posed to  repress  or  underrate  his  youthful  competitor. 
This  effect,  however,  can  only  continue  for  a  single 
generation,  and  it  has  occurred  to  the  Society  that 
much  of  the  practical  evil  may  be  obviated  by  the  inter- 
position of  your  honorable  body. 

The  Regents  have  the  sole  power  in  this  State  of 
granting  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine. 
In  other  States  the  medical  colleges  possess  this  power, 
and  they  have  accordingly  exercised  it — and  particu- 
larly in  some  of  the  New  England  States,  as  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts,  in  granting  the  honorary  degree  to 
aged  and  respectable  practitioners  and  thus  obviated 
the  very  difficulty  which  has  been  noticed.  In  Con- 
necticut it  is  understood,  there  is  every  year  a  number 
recommended  by  the  medical  convention  (equivalent 
to  the  State  Medical  Society)  to  Yale  College,  for 
this  honor.  In  Massachusetts,  Harvard  University  an- 
nually confers  the  honorary  degree  on  a  number  of 
individuals ;  and  in  other  States,  medical  institutions 
are  more  or  less  in  the  habit  of  giving  it. 

The  proposition,  therefore,  of  this  Society  is,  that 
the  Regents  be  pleased  annually  to  confer  the  honorary 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  on  a  certain  number 
of  individuals,  not  to  exceed  six,  to  be  recommended 
by  the  State  Medical  Society  at  its  regular  meeting, 
by  the  votes  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 
In  this  way,  it  is  believed,  a  sufficient  guarantee  is 
offered,  that  the  individuals  will  be  deserving  of  the 
honor,  since  every  profession  is  the  best  judge  of  the 
talents  of  its  members,  and  at  the  same  time  a  mark 
of  distinction  will  be  bestowed,  and  that  will  be  at  once 
a  reward  for  a  life  of  honorable  usefulness,  and  an  in- 
centive to  promote  the  cause  of  medical  education. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted, 

T.    RoMEYN    Beck,    Chairman. 

This  communication  was  received  after  the 
meeting  by  the  Regents  of  the  University  and 
as  might  have  been  expected  was  acted  upon 
favorably  by  that  body.  What  the  text  of  the 
Regents'  communication  was,  however,  there  is 
no  means  of  knowing,  though  its  purport  can 
be  readily  gleaned  from  subsequent  notes  in  the 
transactions.  Evidently  the  Board  of  Regents 
replied  that  they  considered  it  either  improper 
or  inadvisable  to  state  absolutely  that  they  would 

153 


confer  the  degree  on  all  nominated  by  the  Society, 
but  they  suggested  that  if  the  Society  would  each 
year  present  the  names  of  those  upon  whom  it 
wished  the  degree  to  be  conferred  the  Board  of 
Regents  would  probably  act  favorably  upon  them. 
In  the  Report  of  the  Transactions  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  following  year  there  is  under  date 
of  February  8th,  1827,  the  following  not^  with 
regard  to  the  matter : 

The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  communi- 
cation from  the  Regents  of  the  University,  report, 
that  as  a  preliminary  to  their  nomination,  it  is  deemed 
necessary  (in  conformity  to  the  application  to  the 
Regents)  to  consider  age  as  a  requisite,  as  well  as 
professional  standing;  and  therefore,  that  it  is  inex- 
pedient to  offer  any  name,  where  the  person  has  not 
attained  the  age  of  45  years.  With  the  desire  of  dis- 
charging their  duty  conformably  to  the  intentions  of  the 
Society,  both  in  respect  to  qualification  and  age,  the 
following  gentlemen  are  nominated  to  the  Society  for 
recommendation  to  the  Regents,  for  the  honorary  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Medicine: 

(The  names  are  omitted  until  the  pleasure  of  the 
Regents  be  known.) 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  following  year, 
1828,  the  President  reported  that  in  compliance 
with  the  request  of  the  Society,  the  Regents  of 
the  University  had  conferred  the  honorary  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Medicine  on  the  following 
gentlemen,  nominated  by  the  Society  at  its  last 
meeting,  viz :  Drs.  John  Onderdonk,  New  York ; 
Jonathan  Eights,  Albany ;  Laurens  Hull,  Oneida ; 
James  Stevenson,  Washington ;  Thomas  Fuller, 
Otsego ;  Gain  Robinson,  Wayne. 

At  the  same  time  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  nominate  to  the  Society  six  gentlemen  to  be 
presented  to  the  Regents  for  the  honorary  de- 
gree of  medicine  during  the  following  year. 

The  six  men  who  were  first  to  receive  this 
honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  at  the 
request  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  were 
distinguished  members  of  the  organization,  of 
whose  medical  skill  and  liberal  education  there 

154 


could  be  no  doubt.  Two  of  them  were  subse- 
quently to  receive  the  honor  of  being  elected 
President  of  the  State  Society  and  the  others 
were  to  be  widely  and  honorably  known  in  their 
professional  capacity.  It  is  evident  that  they  were 
selected  from  different  parts  of  the  State  delib- 
erately in  order  that  there  might  be  no  possible 
ground  for  the  complaint  that  perhaps  personal 
influences  had  had  much  to  do  with  the  selection. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  was  suggested  that 
the  committee  should  select  six  names  to  be 
recommended  to  the  Regents  during  1828,  the 
Transactions  of  1829  only  report  three  men  as 
having  received  the  degree.  They  were  Drs. 
Thomas  Broadhead,  of  Columbia ;  John  B.  Hen- 
roy,  of  Monroe,  and  Eleazor  Gedney,  of  Orange. 
Whether  the  three  other  names  proposed  were 
rejected  by  the  Regents  there  is  no  way  of  de- 
termining from  the  transactions  of  the  Society. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MEDICAL  CURIOSITIES  OF  OPINION  AND 
OBSERVATION. 

The  volumes  of  the  transactions  of  the  State 
Medical  Society  for  the  first  half  century  of  its 
existence  do  not  contain  many  direct  contribu- 
tions to  the  science  of  medicine.  The  reading 
matter  is  mainly  composed  of  minutes  of  the 
meetings  with  addresses  of  the  Presidents  for 
the  first  twenty-five  years,  and  then,  prize  essays 
and  addresses  of  various  kinds  with  a  few  medi- 
cal articles  in  the  stricter  sense.  Some  of  these 
articles  have  quaint  medical  notions  not  yet 
gone,  some  contain  observations  of  great  clinical 
value,  and  some  of  them  describe  distinct  rari- 
ties in  medicine  and  surgery.  As  the  eariier  vol- 
umes of  the  Transactions  are  now  not  easy  to  ob- 
tain and  very  few  people  have  the  opportunity  of 
consulting  them,  it  has  seemed  wise  to  select  cer- 
tain notable  contributions  to  the  medicine  of 
these  early  years  in  order  to  call  attention  to  a 

155 


fruitful  field  in  which  information  for  the  his- 
tory of  medical  and  surgical  progress  in  America 
may  be  obtained.  Only  the  more  striking  obser- 
vations have  been  selected. 

MALARIA    VERSUS    CONSUMPTION. 

Those  who  are  interested  in  the  history  of 
American  Climatology  as  it  relates  to  pulmonary 
tuberculosis  especially  will  find  matter  for  re- 
flection in  the  following  notes,  to  the  anniver- 
sary address  as  President  of  the  Medical  So- 
ciety of  the  State  of  New  York,  by  Dr.  John 
Stearns  in  1819. 

"The  proportion  of  deaths  by  consumption  in  the 
bills  of  mortality  in  New  York  and  Boston  are  1-4,  in 
Philadelphia,  1-5,  while  all  accounts  concur  in  repre- 
senting it  to  be  a  very  rare  disease  in  Kentucky,  Ohio, 
Indiana  and  up  the  Missouri.  A  knowledge  of  this 
fact  has  induced  some  consumptive  patients  to  seek  re- 
lief in  that  section  of  the  country.  The  success  equalled 
their  most  sanguine  expectations.  This  peculiar  salu- 
brity, probably,  originates  from  the  march  miasmata 
with  which  the  atmosphere  is  surcharged,  and  which 
recent  experience  has  proved  to  be  highly  salutary  in 
this  disease.  May  we  not  anticipate  the  period  when 
our  western  deserts  will  become  the  Montpelier  of 
America,  and  be  as  much  resorted  to  for  health  as  they 
are  now  for  subsistence?"' 

SELF-PERFORMED    CESAREAN    OPERATION. 

One  of  the  most  striking  stories  in  the  Tran- 
sactions gives  the  details  of  a  Csesarean  operation 
performed  by  the  patient  upon  herself  under  cir- 
cumstances that  would  seem  to  preclude  all  possi- 
bility of  recovery,  yet  with  an  unev^entful  conva- 
lescence. Most  of  these  stories  have  been  dis- 
credited, but  the  present  instance  rests  on  such 
good  authority  and  is  so  thoroughly  substanti- 
ated that  it  does  not  seem  possible  to  doubt,  in 
any  way,  of  its  occurrence. 

In  the  year  1823,  when  President  of  the  Rensselaer 
County  Medical  Society,  to  which  ofBce  he  had_  been 
elected  the  second  time,  Dr.  McCIellan  communicated 
to  that  Society  that  singular  case  of  self-perforrned 
Csesarean  section  on  the  person  of  a  mulatto  girl  living 
in  Nassau.    Twins  were  extracted,  the  wound  cleansed 

156 


and  properly  dressed  and  the  girl  recovered.  The  time 
she  chose  for  the  operation  was  while  the  family  were 
at  dinner;  the  place,  behind  the  barn  on  a  snowbank; 
and  her  instruments,  her  master's  razor  and  a  darning 
needle.  The  case  was  copied  in  several  medical  jour- 
nals. It  was  first  published  in  the  New  York  Medical 
and  Physical  Journal  for  March,  1823,  page  41,  to  which 
journal  it  was  sent  by  order  of  the  Rensselaer  County 
Medical  Society.  It  was  also  published  in  the  London 
Medico-Chirurgical  Review,  vol.  5  (1823),  page  236. 
The  editors  of  the  latter  journal  doubted  the  correct- 
ness of  the  story.  It  was  nevertheless  true,  and  only 
tends  to  show  how  tenacious  of  life  the  human  body 
sometimes  is,  and  to  what  extreme  injuries  it  may  be 
subjected,  and  still,  life  continue  and  health  be  re- 
stored. Dr.  Bassett,  whose  patient  she  was,  is  still  liv- 
ing, as  the  subjoined  letter  will  prove: 

Nassau,  N.  Y.,  January,  1857. 
My  dear  Doctor: 

The  obstetric  case  referred  to  in  yours  of  the  nth 
inst.  occurred  January  29,  1821.  The  wound  healed 
by  the  first  intention.  Bleeding  was  resorted  to  once. 
There  was  suppression  of  urine  which  required  the  use 
of  the  catheter  for  about  a  week.  She  left  Nassau  the 
May  following  perfectly  well.  Six  years  after  I  saw 
her  in  Troy.  She  was  living  with  a  Mr.  Rogers  in  the 
capacity  of  a  servant  girl.  Since  then  I  have  not  heard 
of  her.  With  respect,  truly  yours, 

E.  D.  Bassett. 
Dr.  T.  W.  Blatchford. 

FATAL  RUPTURE  OF  VEIN  IN  BROAD  LIGAMENT. 

In  Volume  IV  of  the  Transactions,  Page  334, 
Dr.  James  McNaughton,  who  was  afterwards 
President  of  the  State  Society,  reported  a  sudden 
death  from  rupture  of  the  spermatic  vein  which 
is  probably  one  of  the  first  of  these  cases  on  rec- 
ord. The  patient  was  not  as  might  be  expected 
from  the  title  a  male,  but  a  female,  and  in  the 
broad  ligament  there  were  a  series  of  tortuous 
varicose  veins,  one  of  which  ruptured.  The  ac- 
count reads  very  much  like  that  of  a  case  of  rup- 
tured extra-uterine  pregnancy,  but  the  autopsy 
was  made  very  carefully  and  it  is  explicitly  noted 
that  there  was  not  pregnancy,  uterine  or  extra- 
uterine. All  the  observations  in  this  case  were 
made  with  the  greatest  care  and  it  is  an  excellent 

157 


example  of  the  diligent  study  which  the  men  of 
these  early  times  gave  to  their  cases. 

EQUIVOCAL  GENERATION. 

In  Volume  VI  there  is  a  medico-legal  article 
on  Equivocal  Generation  by  Thomas  W.  Blatch- 
ford,  who  was  subsequently  a  President  of  the 
Society.  He  had  been  summoned  in  a  case  of 
slander  to  give  a  medical  opinion.  The  slander 
consisted  in  a  declaration  by  the  defendant  that 
the  plaintiff  had  given  birth  to  a  creature  that 
partook  of  the  nature  of  a  dog.  The  whole  sub- 
ject of  the  possibility  of  such  equivocal  genera- 
tion is  discussed  very  conservatively  and  with  a 
thoroughness  of  scientific  treatment  that  is  a  little 
surprising  seeing  that  the  interest  in  biological 
subjects  generally  had  not  as  yet  been  aroused 
by  the  coming  of  Darwinism  and  that  medical 
men  particularly  dabbled  much  more  in  botany, 
mineralogy  and  other  sciences  allied  to  the  thera- 
peutic side  of  medicine  at  that  time,  rather  than 
in  the  biological  sciences.  Some  of  the  authori- 
ties quoted,  however,  lay  down  rather  amusing 
principles  in  the  light  of  our  modern  knowledge. 

EARLY  REMOVAL  OF  OVARIAN  TUMOR. 

In  the  Volume  of  Transactions  for  1849  which 
is  bound  in  with  those  for  the  preceding  years, 
1847  ai^d  1848,  Dr.  Alden  March,  who  was  to  be 
subsequently  a  President  of  the  Society,  reports 
the  successful  removal  of  an  ovarian  tumor 
weighing  some  eighteen  pounds.  The  tumor 
was  an  ovarian  cyst  of  the  monolocular  variety 
and  had  not  as  yet  contracted  any  adhesions  to 
surrounding  structures.  Dr.  March  considers 
that  he  would  prefer  to  operate  without  previous 
tapping  except  in  as  far  as  the  tapping  might  be 
done  for  diagnostic  purposes.  In  discussing  the 
case  he  suggests  that  where  adhesions  exist  the 
operation  would  be  very  difficult.  He  hints  in 
conclusion  that  the  ease  with  which  certain  of 
these  operations  may  be  done  will  almost  surely 

158 


tempt  physicians  to  do  more  of  them  than  is  ab- 
solutely necessary.  This  operation  was  per- 
formed December  lo,  1849,  and  is  one  of  the 
very  early  successful  cases  of  its  kind. 

FEMALE  DRESS  AND  DISEASES. 

It  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal articles  in  Volume  VII  of  the  Transactions 
treats  of  that  very  interesting  subject  Dress  and 
Disease  in  Females.  It  is,  however,  of  the  nature 
of  a  surprise  to  find  that  just  exactly  the  same 
faults  were  found  at  that  time  with  woman's 
dress  as  at  the  present  time,  and  that  notwith- 
standing the  protests  of  physicians  for  consider- 
ably more  than  half  a  century,  there  has  been  so 
little  amelioration  of  the  faulty  condition.  Dr. 
William  D.  Purple,  who  writes  the  article,  com- 
plains that  by  the  decree  which  comes  down  from 
fashion's  throne  the  female  must  be  moulded  into 
a  more  angelic  form  and  be  made  to  approximate 
by  an  hour-glass  constriction  to  the  sylph-like 
form  of  the  ant  upon  the  mole-hill.  After  the 
corset  he  finds  the  most  objectionable  feature  of 
women's  dress  the  hanging  of  heavy  skirts  from 
their  waists  rather  than  from  their  shoulders. 
No  man,  he  considers,  would  be  able  to  go  on 
with  his  work  if  he  had  to  wear  the  heavy  petti- 
coats of  those  days  dragging  down  as  a  burden 
from  his  waist. 

The  evils  that  Dr.  Purple  considers  to  flow 
from  these  unfortunate  mistakes  of  dressing  ac- 
cording to  the  dictates  of  fashion  are  just  those 
which  have  been  emphasized  ever  since.  The 
displacement  of  the  abdominal  organs  leads  to 
interference  with  the  blood  supply  of  the  uterus, 
affecting  the  veins  more  than  the  arteries  and 
so  causing  congestion  with  all  its  train  of  attend- 
ant pathological  conditions.  After  the  genital 
organs  the  most  important  affection  is  that  of 
the  bowels,  and  the  constipation,  which  even  then 
was  so  common  among  women,  Dr.  Purple  does 
not  hesitate  to  ascribe  to  a  considerable  extent 

159 


to  faults  in  dress.  Of  the  liver  he  has  less  to 
say,  though  there  is  a  hint  of  congestion  here 
also.  The  increased  pressure  within  the  abdo- 
men he  thinks  must  interfere  with  the  movements 
of  the  diaphragm  and  constantly  with  respira- 
tion. For  him  many  of  the  anemic  conditions 
which  develop  especially  in  young  women  must 
be  attributed  to  this  concatenation  of  circum- 
stances. 

SECRET  NOSTRUMS. 

In  the  Transactions  for  1851  there  is  a  special 
prize  essay  which  because  of  recent  develop- 
ments can  scarcely  but  prove  of  great  profes- 
sional interest.  Dr.  Alonzo  Clark,  of  New  York, 
offered  a  special  prize  for  an  essay  on  the  sub- 
ject, "The  Pernicious  Effects  of  Nostrums  or 
Secret  Remedies  upon  the  Morals  and  Health  of 
the  Community."  The  prize  was  awarded  to 
the  essay  written  by  Dr.  John  G.  Sewall,  of  New 
York.  The  main  features  of  the  essay  are  ex- 
actly those  which  come  up  in  the  discussion  of 
the  same  subject  in  our  own  time  more  than  half 
a  century  later.  Dr.  Sewall  complains  of  the  for- 
mation of  drug  habits,  of  the  exploitation  of  the 
poor  and  of  those  suffering  from  chronic  ail- 
ments, and  does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  many 
of  the  certificates  of  cures  issued  by  the  nos- 
trum people  were  false.  In  the  matter  of  moral- 
ity the  most  serious  thing  is  the  advertising  in 
public  newspapers,  where  young  folks  may  read 
them,  of  all  the  hideous  details  with  regard  to 
private  diseases ;  and  he  registers  his  complaint 
that  newspapers  which  expect  to  circulate  in  a 
family  should  be  allowed  to  admit  such  adver- 
tising material  to  their  columns. 

The  conclusions  of  his  essay  are  far  in  ad- 
vance of  his  time  and  show  a  conservative  esti- 
mate of  the  real  value  of  drugs  that  is  rather 
surprising  considering  our  usual  ideas  as  to  the 
evolution  of  medicine  before  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century.    Dr.  Sewall  says : 

160 


"First :  That,  the  idea  that  there  is  any  necessary 
and  direct  connection  as  of  cause  and  effect  between  the 
administration  of  drugs  and  the  eradication  of  disease, 
is  idle  and  visionary,  by  which  it  is  not  implied  that 
they  are  of  no  utility  when  in  wise  hands,  but  always 
of  subordinate  utility,  the  best  never  being  substitutes 
for  but  adjuvants  of  nature.  Second:  That,  no  treat- 
ment of  disease  can  be  a  rational  one  save  such  as  fol- 
lows the  indications  of  nature  founded  upon  an  earnest 
and  persevering  study  of  her  laws  as  manifested  in 
health,  and  in  those  irregularities  of  normal  life  in 
which  disease  consists,  with  their  application  to  the 
individual  constitution ;  a  study  which  finds  that  the 
nearer  the  arcana  of  nature  are  approached  the  more 
simple  are  these  elements  with  which  she  deals  and  the 
greater  the  confidence  that  should  be  yielded  to  her 
own   restorative  powers." 

INEBRIETY  AS  A  DISEASE. 

A  very  interesting  passage  from  the  inaugu- 
ral address  of  Dr.  Fordyce  Barker,  of  New  York, 
at  the  meeting  held  in  February,  i860,  referred 
to  the  recent  establishment  of  an  inebriate  asy- 
lum, and  called  the  special  attention  of  the  State 
Medical  Society  to  the  good  that  might  be  accom- 
plished by  such  an  institution.  It  is  the  custom 
sometimes  to  say  that  the  recognition  of  inebriety 
as  a  pathological  condition  is  much  more  recent 
than  this.  But  Dr.  Barker's  declaration  will  help 
to  show  that  even  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  physicians  were  definitely  of  the  opinion 
that  dipsomania  should  be  treated  as  a  disease 
rather  than  as  a  malicious  mental  condition. 
He  said : 

"It  is  now  an  accepted  opinion  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession that  inebriety  is  a  constitutional  disease,  some- 
times hereditary,  sometimes  acquired,  as  much  as  any 
malady  which  man  is  heir  to.  To  that  untiring  philan- 
thropist, Dr.  J.  Edward  Turner,  belongs  the  merits  of 
first  having  called  the  attention  of  the  profession  and 
the  public  to  the  necessity  of  an  asylum  where  the  in- 
ebriate could  be  morally  and  medically  treated,  with 
sufficient  restraint  to  control  the  patient.  The  State  of 
New  York  has  the  honor  of  having  chartered,  in  1854, 
the  first  inebriate  asylum  in  the  world.  At  the  laying 
of  the  corner  stone  of  this  institution,  Mr.  Everett 
remarked  that  'in  1  ying  the  foundation  of  an  asylum 

II  161 


for  this  State,  if  it  succeeds,  you  have  laid  this  day  a 
corner  stone  for  a  similar  asylum  in  every  State  of  this 
Union,  in  every  kingdom  of  Europe.'  Already  has  this 
prophecy  partially  become  history,  for  efforts  are  now 
being  made  to  establish  similar  institutions  in  other 
states  and  in  some  parts  of  Europe. 

"It  is  characteristic  of  the  profession  that  more  than 
fifteen  hundred  leading  physicians  were  petitioners  to 
the  Legislature  for  an  appropriation  for  this  institution, 
and  that  nine  hundred  physicians  of  this  State  subscribed 
$io  each  for  building  the  hospital.  The  State  Medical 
Society  has  also  unanimously  recommended  it  to  the 
favor  and  earnest  support  not  only  of  the  Legislature 
of  the  State,  but  of  the  public  at  large.  I  am  informed 
by  Dr.  Turner  that  since  the  institution  was  chartered, 
the  trustees  have  received  three  thousand  ore  hundred 
and  thirty-two  applications  for  admission  as  patients 
to  the  asylum,  although  the  walls  of  the  hospital  are  not 
yet  completed.  The  trustees  state  in  their  appeal,  that 
'among  the  applicants  are  twenty-eight  clergymen, 
thirty-six  physicians,  forty-two  lawyers,  three  judges, 
twelve  editors,  four  army  and  three  naval  officers,  one 
hundred  and  seventy-nine  merchants,  fifty-five  farmers, 
five  hundred  and  fifteen  mechanics,  and  four  hundred 
and  ten  women  who  are  from  the  high  walks  of  life.' 
The  above  statement  is  alone  a  comprehensive  argu- 
ment for  the  zealous  and  continued  interest  of  the  pro- 
fession   in   this    institution." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FOUNDATION   OF  THE  AMERICAN   MEDICAL 
ASSOCIATION. 

As  the  foundation  of  the  American  Medical 
Association  was  due  to  the  effort  of  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  it  naturally 
forms  a  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Society. 
The  American  Medical  Association  as  it  exists 
at  the  present  time  owes  its  origin  to  a  resolu- 
tion introduced,  as  we  shall  see  more  fully  later, 
by  Dr.  Nathan  S.  Davis,  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in 
1844.  The  subject  had  been  originally  called 
up  by  Dr.  McCall  by  a  resolution  in  1839.  It 
was  not  until  1846  that  the  Society  was  to  see 
the  fruition  of  its  labor,  but  during  all  this  time 
there     was    gradually    gathering    strength    an 

162 


undercurrent  of  feeling  that  was  to  serve  an  ex- 
cellent purpose  in  overcoming  rather  acute  op- 
position which  developed  just  about  the  time  of 
the  culmination  of  the  movement  for  the  erection 
of  the  national  medical  body. 

As  with  regard  to  the  foundation  of  the  Med- 
ical Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  itself,  the 
desire  for  the  organization  of  a  national  associa- 
tion arose  from  the  wish  to  raise  the  professional 
standard  among  physicians  in  this  country. 
There  had  come  to  be  an  extremely  low  level 
of  medical  education.  Many  medical  schools  had 
been  founded,  often  when  they  were  not  needed, 
and  the  competition  among  them  had  finally 
brought  medical  education  to  such  a  pass  that  it 
is  hard  to  understand  how  physicians  of  any 
professional  dignity  could  defend  the  position 
that  had  been  assumed.  The  opposition  to  the 
new  movement  that  would  bring  about  reform 
came  mostly  from  the  medical  schools.  Among 
the  profession  in  general,  the  Medical  Society  of 
the  State  of  New  York  encountered  more  of 
apathy  than  of  actual  opposition.  As  the  proj- 
ect for  the  establishment  of  a  national  organiza- 
tion approached  fruition,  the  jealousy  of  teachers 
in  medical  schools  flared  out  very  threateningly, 
and  many  bitter  expressions  were  used  in  the 
discussion  of  the  subject,  in  the  medical  journals 
of  the  time,  and  in  personalities  indulged  in 
almost  without  end. 

The  dramatic  moment  of  opposition  to  the 
society  came  when  the  delegates  who  were  even- 
tually to  organize  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion were  already  convened  in  the  hall  of  one  of 
the  New  York  Medical  Schools.  A  prominent 
member  of  the  faculty  of  this  medical  school 
proposed  as  the  first  business  of  the  meeting  that 
since  delegates  were  present  from  only  one 
half  of  the  states  and  institutions  to  which 
invitations  had  been  sent  the  meeting  should 
adjourn  sine  die.  This  motion  was  seconded  by 
another  member  of  the  same  faculty.    When  put 

163 


to  the  vote,  however,  it  was  lost  by  a  unanimous 
vote,  with  the  exception  of  the  mover  and 
seconder  of  the  resolution,  who  were  the  only 
yeas. 

The  whole  subject  of  the  organization  of  the 
American  Medical  Association  deserves,  how- 
ever, to  be  treated  by  an  actor  in  the  scenes,  and 
by  a  contemporary  of  the  events.  Hence  w'e  pre- 
fer to  reprint  the  account  of  the  organization  of 
the  society  which  appeared  in  the  New  Jersey 
Medical  Reporter,  Volume  VII.,  signed  as,  "By 
one  of  its  Members." 

This  account,  called  the  "History  of  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association,"  begins  with  an  essay 
of  nearly  i,ooo  words  on  "The  Necessity  for 
Union"  in  every  phase  of  life  among  educated 
people,  and  dwells  especially  on  the  need  for 
union  among  physicians.  After  pointing  out 
some  of  the  benefits  that  might  be  expected  to 
accrue  from  such  union,  the  incapacity  of  the 
many  scattered  medical  societies  throughout  the 
country  to  succeed  in  raising  professional  dignity 
is  pointed  out,  and  some  of  the  abuses  that  have 
crept  in  hinted  at.  This  portion  of  the  account, 
however,  scarcely  seems  to  be  of  historical  value, 
and  accordingly  it  has  been  omitted  here. 

History  of  the  American  Medical  Association. 

The  American  Medical  Association  completed  its 
organization  and  commenced  its  actual  existence  in  the 
City  of  Philadelphia,  during  the  first  week  in  May, 
1847.  But  a  correct  knowledge  of  its  origin,  and  a  just 
appreciation  of  the  motives  of  those  to  whom  the  pro- 
fession is  indebted  for  its  existence,  requires  a  kno^yl- 
edge  of  the  doings  of  certain  individuals  and  societies 
during  several  years  previous  to  the  date  mentioned. 
If  the  reader  will  turn  to  the  statistics  of  the  Medical 
Colleges,  compiled  by  Dr.  T.  R.  Beck,  of  Albany,  and 
published  in  the  transactions  of  the  New  York  State 
Medical  Society;  or  to  the  little  volume,  entitled, 
"History  of  Medical  Education,"  etc.,  by  Dr.  N.  S. 
Davis,  he  will  learn  that,  during  the  fifteen  years  inter- 
vening between  1830  and  1845,  the  number  of  medical 
colleges  in  the  United  States  more  than  doubled,  lead- 
ing to  a  most  active  rivalry,  and  a  competition  unre- 

164 


strained  by  any  mutual  intercourse  with  each  other,  or 
social  connection  with  the  profession  at  large.  Such 
institutions,  having  full  power  to  confer  degrees,  which 
were  very  generally  recognized  as  sufficient  to  entitle 
the  holder  to  membership  in  the  profession,  would  be 
strongly  tempted,  under  the  circumstances  mentioned, 
to  add  to  the  more  important  and  legitimate  induce- 
ments, short  courses  of  instruction,  and  easy  terms  of 
graduation.  Hence,  sixteen  weeks  was  very  generally 
adopted  as  the  length  of  the  college  term,  and  in  some 
of  the  schools  it  was  reduced  to  thirteen.  The  marked 
inadequacy  of  so  short  a  term,  and  the  evils  resulting 
from  a  want  of  concert  among  the  colleges,  early  at- 
tracted attention  in  New  England,  and  led  to  some 
unsuccessful  attempts  to  remedy  both.  In  1835,  the 
faculty  of  the  Medical  College  of  Georgia  formally  pro- 
posed the  holding  of  a  convention  of  delegates  from 
all  the  medical  colleges  of  the  Union,  and  advocated 
the  same  through  the  columns  of  the  Southern  Medical 
and  Surgical  Journal. 

The  proposition  seemed  to  meet  the  approbation  of 
those  connected  with  many  of  the  colleges,  but  failed 
of  being  carried  into  effect,  through  the  indifference  of 
some  of  the  older  and  more  influential  schools  in  the 
Atlantic  cities.  The  first  movement  of  which  we  have 
any  record,  which  contemplated  a  convention  of  dele- 
gates, not  only  from  all  the  medical  colleges,  but  also 
from  the  regularly  organized  medical  societies  through- 
out the  whole  country,  was  made  in  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  at  its  annual  session 
in  February,  1839.  During  the  same  session  the  sub- 
ject of  medical  education  had  been  a  prominent  topic 
of  discussion,  and  a  resolution,  declaring  that  the  busi- 
ness of  teaching  should  be  separated  as  far  as  possible 
from  the  privilege  of  granting  diplomas,  had  been 
adopted  by  a  large  majority.  It  was  in  view  of  this 
discussion  that  Dr.  John  McCall,  of  Utica,  offered  the 
following  preamble  and  resolution,  viz. : 

"Whereas,  A  National  Medical  Convention  would 
advance,  in  the  apprehension  of  this  Society,  the  cause 
of  the  medical  profession  throughout  our  land,  in  thus 
affording  an  interchange  of  views  and  sentiments  on 
the  most  interesting  of  all  subjects — that  involving 
men's  health,  and  the  means  of  securing,  or  recovering 
the  same ;    therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  in  our  opinion,  such  convention  is 
deemed  advisable  and  important;  and  we  would  hence 
recommend  that  it  be  held  in  the  year  1840,  on  the  first 
Tuesday  in  May  of  that  year,  in  the  City  of  Phila- 
delphia ;  and  that  it  consist  of  three  delegates  from 
each   State  Medical  Society,  and  one  from  each  regu- 

i6s 


larly  constituted  medical  school  in  the  United  States, 
and  that  the  President  and  Secretary  of  this  Society 
be,  and  they  are  hereby  instructed,  and  required  to 
transmit,  as  soon  as  may  be,  a  circular  to  that  effect 
to  each  State  Medical  Society  and  Medical  School  in 
said  United  States." 

This  proposition  was  adopted,  and  all  the  necessary 
steps  taken  by  the  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York 
for  carrying  it  into  effect.  But  neither  the  societies, 
nor  the  schools  of  other  States,  not  even  those  of  Phila- 
delphia, where  the  proposed  convention  was  to  be  held, 
responded  to  the  invitation,  and  consequently  no  meet- 
ing took  place. 

The  subject  of  medical  education,  however,  continued 
to  be  a  prominent  topic  of  discussion  in  many  of  the 
medical  societies  throughout  the  Union;  and  especially 
the  evils  supposed  to  result  from  the  union  of  the 
power  to  teach,  and  to  confer  degrees,  or  licenses  to 
practice,  in  the  same  hands.  And  at  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  New  York  State  Society,  in  1844,  attention 
was  again  strongly  directed  to  the  whole  subject  of 
medical  education,  and  the  necessity  of  a  higher  stand- 
ard of  qualifications,  both  preliminary  and  medical,  by 
two  series  of  resolutions.  The  one  was  offered  by  Dr. 
Alexander  Thompson,  of  Cayuga  County,  and  the  other 
by  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis,  then  a  new  delegate  from  Broome 
County,  N.  Y. 

These  resolutions  declared  a  four  months'  college 
term  too  short  for  an  adequate  course  of  lectures  on 
all  the  branches  of  medical  science,  and  the  standard 
of  education,  both  preliminary  and  medical,  required 
by  the  schools  previous  to  the  granting  of  their  diplo- 
mas, altogether  too  low ;  while  the  union  of  the  teach- 
ing and  licensing  power  in  the  college  faculties  was 
represented  as  impolitic,  and  consequently  liable  to 
abuse.  These  resolutions  elicited  some  discussion,  and 
were  referred  to  the  standing  corresponding  committee, 
of  which  Dr.  Davis  was  made  chairman.  Through  his 
agency,  the  subjects  embraced  in  the  resolutions  were 
urged  upon  the  attention  of  most  of  the  county  societies 
in  that  State,  and  in  many  of  them  elicited  action 
acknowledging  their  importance,  and  sanctioning  the 
principles  they  embraced.  This  gave  the  subject  a  more 
general  interest,  and  at  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the 
State  Society,  held  in  February,  1845,  two  reports  were 
presented  by  the  Corresponding  Committee ;  one  from 
the  Chairman,  embodying  the  action  of  the  county  so- 
cieties, and  recommending  the  principles  involved  in 
the  original  resolutions;  the  other  from  Dr.  M.  H. 
Cash,  of  Orange  County,  taking  a  different  view  of  the 
subject.     These  reports  led  to  a  protracted  discussion 

166 


of  the  whole  subject  of  medical  education,  more  espe- 
cially in  reference  to  the  standard  of  attainments  that 
should  be  required  before  admission  into  the  ranks 
of  the  profession.  On  the  one  hand,  it  was  claimed 
that  the  standard  of  attainments,  both  preliminary  and 
medical,  exacted  by  the  several  medical  colleges,  was 
too  low,  or  too  limited,  to  be  consistent  with  either 
the  honor  of  the  profession,  or  the  well-being  of  the 
community ;  and  farther,  that  the  union  of  the  power 
to  teach  and  grant  diplomas  in  the  several  college 
faculties,  co-operated  with  the  active  rivalry  among 
the  schools  to  depress  the  standard  still  lower.  On  the 
other  hand,  while  some  of  these  allegations  were 
promptly  admitted  to  be  true,  it  was  claimed  that  the 
standard  of  qualifications  exacted  by  the  colleges  of 
New  York  was  as  high  as  that  required  by  the  colleges 
in  any  of  the  surrounding  States ;  and  consequently, 
the  adoption  of  measures  calculated  to  compel  the 
schools  of  one  State  to  adopt  a  higher  standard  would 
have  no  other  effect  than  to  induce  the  students  to 
abandon  such  schools  for  those  of  other  States,  where 
less  extensive  attainments  were  required.  The  latter 
view  was  more  especially  urged  by  the  friends  of  such 
colleges  as  were  represented  in  the  Society;  while  the 
advocates  of  a  more  liberal  professional  education 
claimed  that  such  position  precluded  all  progress.  For 
the  institutions  of  each  State  would  claim  that  their 
standard  of  qualifications,  required  before  conferring 
the  degree  of  M.D.,  was  as  high  as  that  exacted  by 
the  schools  of  other  States,  and  consequently  no  one 
would  venture  to  advance  a  step  beyond  its  rivals. 
[This  competition  in  the  maintenance  of  low  standards 
for  the  sake  of  attracting  students  shows  how  low  all 
sense  of  professional  dignity  had  fallen. — Ed.] 

It  was  at  the  close  of  this  debate,  when  the  whole 
subject  was  about  to  be  postponed  until  the  next  annual 
meeting  of  the  Society,  that  Dr.  Alden  March,  of  Al- 
bany, privately  suggested  to  Dr.  Davis,  who  had  taken 
an  active  part  in  the  discussion,  that  the  objection 
might  be  obviated  by  calling  a  convention  of  delegates 
from  all  the  colleges,  and  thereby  inducing  the  insti- 
tutions of  the  several  States  to  act  in  concert.  The 
last  named  gentleman,  not  knowing  that  any  previous 
attempts  to  assemble  a  National  Medical  Convention 
had  been  made,  immediately  rose,  and  submitted  the 
following  preamble  and  resolutions,  viz. : 

"Whereas,  It  is  believed  that  a  National  Convention 
would  be  conducive  to  the  elevation  of  the  standard 
of  medical  education  in  the  United  States ;  and  where- 
as, there  is  no  mode  of  accomplishing  so  desirable  an 
object,   without   concert   of  action   on   the  part   of  the 

167 


medical   colleges,    societies   and    institutions    of    all    the 
States ;    therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  the  New  York  State  Medical  Society 
earnestly  recommend  a  National  Convention  of  dele- 
gates from  medical  societies  and  colleges  in  the  whole 
Union,  to  convene  in  the  City  of  New  York,  on  the 
first  Tuesday  in  May,  in  the  year  1846,  for  the  purpose 
of  adopting  some  concerted  action  on  the  subject  set 
forth  in  the  following  preamble. 

"Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed 
to  carry  the  foregoing  resolution  into  effect." 

This  proposition  led  to  a  brief  conversational  dis- 
cussion, in  which  some  of  the  older  members  of  the 
Society  related  the  former  unsuccessful  attempts  to 
assemble  a  National  Convention  of  medical  men,  which 
elicited  a  very  general  expression  that  the  project  was 
impracticable,  if  not  positively  Utopian.  The  resolu- 
tions, however,  being  strongly  urged  by  the  mover — 
who  contended  that  if  the  object  to  be  accomplished 
was  one  of  acknowledged  importance,  its  friends  should 
persevere,  although  a  dozen  failures  should  be  encoun- 
tered before  their  efforts  met  with  entire  success — 
were  adopted,  and  Drs.  N.  S.  Davis,  of  Binghamton, 
Broome  County;  James  McNaughton,  of  Albany,  and 
Peter  Van  Buren,  the  Secretary  of  the  State  Society, 
were  named  as  the  committee  to  carry  them  into  effect. 
The  chairman  of  this  committee,  soon  after  his  return 
to  Binghamton,  issued  a  circular  containing  the  pre- 
amble and  resolutions  quoted  above,  and  sent  a  copy 
to  each  of  the  colleges  and  societies  known  to  exist 
throughout  the  United  States,  and  to  many  prominent 
members  of  the  profession  in  sections  of  the  country 
where  no  social  organizations  had  been  formed.  The 
correspondence  thus  begun  was  actively  continued 
throughout  the  whole  year.  An  examination  of  this 
correspondence  shows  that  the  proposition  to  hold  a 
National  Convention  met  with  a  favorable  response 
from  societies,  colleges  and  individuals,  throughout  the 
whole  Union,  except  those  colleges  located  in  Phila- 
delphia and  Boston.  To  the  circulars  and  letters  ad- 
dressed to  the  Medical  College  in  Boston,  and  the  two 
oldest  colleges  in  Philadelphia,  answers  were  returned, 
respectfully  declining  to  take  any  part  in  the  proposed 
convention.  The  then  recently  organized  Pennsylvania 
College,  located  in  the  latter  city,  returned  a  more 
favorable  answer,  with  a  promise  that  delegates  from 
that  school  should  be  appointed  to  attend  the  conven- 
tion. The  extent  to  which  the  correspondence  had  been 
carried,  and  the  degree  of  favor  with  which  the  proposi- 
tion for  a  convention  had  been  entertained  by  the  pro- 
fession,   may    be    inferred    from    the    following   extract 

168 


from  a  report  of  the  chairman  of  the  special  committee, 
made  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  New  York  State 
Society,  in   February,   1846,   viz. : 

"Replies  to  these  circulars  and  letters  have  been  re- 
ceived from  the  following  officers  of  medical  societies 
and  colleges,  and  private  members  of  the  profession, 
viz. :  Drs.  W.  W.  Morris,  of  Dover,  Delaware ;  A.  H. 
Buchanan,  of  Tennessee;  W.  P.  Johnston,  of  Washing- 
ton City;  T.  T.  Hewson,  R.  M.  Huston  and  W.  E. 
Thorne,  of  Philadelphia ;  Luther  Ticknor,  of  Con- 
necticut; W.  H.  McKee,  of  North  Carolina;  E.  _H. 
Peaslee,  of  New  Hampshire ;  Paul  F.  Eve,  of  Georgia ; 
J.  H.  Thompson,  of  New  Jersey;  J.  W.  Davis,  of  In- 
diana ;  A.  Twitchell,  of  New  Hampshire ;  John  W. 
Draper,  A.  H.  Stevens,  Willard  Parker,  and  C.  A.  Lee, 
of  New  York ;  D.  Drake,  of  Ohio ;  Lawson,  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  Carpenter,  of  Louisiana.  And  delegates 
have  been  freely  pledged  from  medical  societies  and 
colleges  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut,  New 
Jersey,  Delaware,  District  of  Columbia,  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Tennessee,  Kentucky, 
Ohio,  Indiana  and  New  York.  Nearly  every  medical 
journal  throughout  the  whole  Union  has  not  only  favor- 
ably noticed,  but  warmly  commended,  the  holding  of 
such  a  convention." 

.  .  .  .  It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  in  far  the  larger 
part  of  the  Union,  the  invitation  of  this  Society  has  met 
with  a  prompt  and  hearty  response  from  the  profession ; 
and  it  is  with  much  regret  that  we  find  even  a  few 
institutions  declining  to  take  any  part  in  so  important 
a  movement.  But  when  we  consider  the  wide  extent 
of  our  territory,  and  the  great  number  of  our  insti- 
tutions, all  engaged,  we  should  hope,  in  a  generous 
rivalry  with  each  other,  the  expression  in  favor  of  a 
convention  is  certainly  more  unanimous,  and  more 
promising  of  good,  than  could  have  been  anticipated. 
Indeed,  the  leading  and  influential  members  of  the  pro- 
fession have  long  felt  the  necessity  of  some  national 
action ;  some  central  point  of  influence  around  which 
the  active  and  choice  spirits  of  the  whole  profession 
can  rally,  and  from  which  may  be  made  to  radiate  an 
elevating,  healthful  and  nationalizing  influence  over  the 
whole  country. 

In  accordance  with  the  recommendations  of  this  re- 
port, the  State  Society  appointed  sixteen  delegates  to 
attend  the  proposed  Convention  and  accepted  the  invita- 
tion of  the  Faculty  of  the  New  York  University  to  hold 
the  Convention  in  their  college  edifice,  commencing  at 
10  o'clock  A.M.,  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  May  following. 

Besides  the  editorial  notices,  commending  in  general 
terms  the  proposition  to  hold  a   National   Convention, 

169 


which  appeared  in  nearly  all  the  medical  journals  of  the 
country  during  the  year  1845,  and  which  aided  very 
much  in  rendering  the  movement  successful,  Tlie  New 
York  Journal  of  Medicine  and  the  Collateral  Sciences 
published  several  communications  from  the  author  of 
the  proposition,  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis,  and  also  one  from  Dr. 
L.  Ticknor,  the  President  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  Connecticut.  This  may  be  found  in  the  num- 
bers of  the  Journal  for  November,  1845,  and  January 
and  March,  1846.  The  communication  of  Dr.  Ticknor 
contains  the  first  distinct  proposition  to  perpetuate  the 
action  and  influence  of  the  contemplated  National  Con- 
vention by  organizing  out  of  it  a  permanent  "National 
Medical  Society."  He  says:  "Considering  our  extent 
of  territory,  and  the  number  of  States  into  which  the 
Union  is  divided,  it  is  by  no  means  strange  that  the 
medical  schools  in  the  several  States  should  gradually 
yield  to  other  motives  than  a  desire  to  promote  the  best 
interests  of  society  by  a  thoroughly  educated  and  prop- 
erly disciplined  medical  faculty.  It  is  fairly  enough 
implied,  if  not  perfectly  obvious,  that  there  exists 
no  small  degree  of  rivalry  among  our  medical  insti- 
tutions and  leading  medical  men ;  not,  I  fear,  who  shall 
furnish  the  most  valuable  and  best  wrought  article,  but 
who  shall  furnish  the  greatest  quantity.  To  furnish 
some  antagonism  to  this  tendency  of  our  profession, 
which  is  from  year  to  year  gaining  strength,  influence 
and  popularity,  the  writer  knows  of  no  one  effort  the 
profession  can  make  that  promises  so  much  as  to  or- 
ganize a  National  Medical  Society,  to  meet  annually, 
biennially,  or  triennially,  having,  if  you  please,  a  Vice- 
President  and  committee  of  correspondence  in  each 
State,  etc." 

The  communication  of  Dr.  Davis  contains  a  more  ex- 
tended consideration  of  the  whole  subject  of  medical 
education.  Its  then  existing  condition  throughout  the 
country  is  clearly  set  forth  and  its  defects  clearly  crit- 
icised by  the  writer,  while  he  earnestly  recommends 
such  action  as  is  calculated  to  accomplish  the  following 
definite  objects,  viz.: 

"First — The  standard  of  preliminary  or  preparatory 
education  should  be  greatly  elevated,  or  rather,  a 
standard  should  be  fixed,  for  there  is  none  now,  either 
in  theory  or  in  practice. 

"Second — We  should  elevate  the  business  of  private 
teaching  to  that  position  which  its  intrinsic  importance 
demands. 

"Third — A  more  uniform  standard  of  qualifications 
should  be  required  of  the  candidates  for  medical  honors. 

"Fourth — We  should  devise  some  mode  to  stimulate 
the  ambition  and  arouse  the  energies  of  the  profession 

170 


to  a  higher  state  of  intellectual  activity  and  scientific 
inquiry." 

The  importance  of  these  propositions  he  illustrates  at 
considerable  length,  and  prominent  among  the  means  he 
urges  for  their  practical  accomplishment  is  the  organi- 
zation of  a  "permanent  National  Medical  Society,  by 
whose  annual  discussions  an  exciting,  vivifying  and 
healthful  influence  will  be  exerted  over  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  country  until  a  correct  and  noble  senti- 
ment is  engendered  in  the  bosom  of  every  member  of 
the  profession."* 

In  the  same  number  of  the  New  York  Journal,  from 
which  I  have  just  quoted,  the  editor,  Dr.  C.  A.  Lee,  in 
earnestly  appealing  to  the  profession  to  make  the  pro- 
posed Convention  truly  national,  by  the  attendance  of 
delegates  from  every  section  of  the  country,  makes  the 
following  allusion  to  a  more  representative  organization, 
viz.:  "But  there  are  various  other  subjects  which 
would  naturally  come  up  before  such  a  Convention,  of 
scarcely  less  interest  and  importance,  and  we  should 
hope,  as  already  intimated,  that  a  permanent  National 
Society  would  grow  out  of  it,  which  would,  like  the 
"British  Association,"  meet  annually,  and  at  which  es- 
says and  reports  on  different  branches  of  medicine 
would  be  read  and  discussions  held."  In  alluding  to  the 
call  for  the  National  Convention,  the  editor  of  the 
Buffalo  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal  in  the  number  for 
October,  1845,  says :  "None  can  doubt  the  propriety, 
nay,  the  urgent  necessity  for  the  adoption  of  some 
means  to  elevate  the  standard  of  medical  education  and 
advance  the  dignity  and  usefulness  of  the  profession. 
.  .  .  .  We  fervently  hope  that  this  movement  will 
meet  with  general  concurrence  and  cordial  co-opera- 
tion." 

The  editors  of  the  New  Orleans  Medical  and  Surgical 
Journal,  and  indeed,  of  almost  all  the  other  journals, 
were  equally  explicit  in  commending  the  general  object. 
Thus  far,  though  the  faculties  connected  with  the  col- 
leges in  Philadelphia  and  Boston  had  declined  to  co- 
operate in  the  general  movement,  no  open  opposition  had 
been  manifested  from  any  quarter. 

But  like  all  other  great  movements  affecting  more 
or  less  the  interests  of  a  large  number  of  persons,  the 
effort  to  convene  a  National  Convention  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  medical  profession  was  not  to  be  crowned 
with  success  without  encountering  decided  and  strong 
opposition.  The  movement  having  originated  in  a  State 
society  and  during  a  discussion  in  which  some  of  the 
practices  and  privileges  of  the  medical  colleges  were 
severely  criticised,   it  is  not  surprising  that  it  excited 

*See  New  York  Journal  of  Medicine,  etc.,  March,   1846,  p.  290. 
171 


such  a  feeling  of  distrust  in  the  minds  of  many  of 
those  connected  with  the  colleges  as  to  deter  them 
from  cordially  uniting  with  it.  And  this  distrust  was 
doubtless  increased  in  certain  quarters  by  the  strong 
language,  and  perhaps,  too  sweeping  assertions  con- 
tained in  one  of  the  communications  of  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis 
in  the  New  York  Journal  of  Medicine  already  referred 
to. 

The  latter  were  made  the  pretext  for  a  severe  attack 
upon  the  writer,  the  State  Medical  Society  of  New 
York,  and  all  concerned  in  the  movement  for  a  National 
meeting,  by  Prof.  Martyn  Paine,  of  the  Medical  De- 
partment of  the  New  York  University  in  the  form  of  a 
valedictory  address  to  the  graduating  class  of  that  in- 
stitution delivered  March  ii,  1846.  The  address  was 
styled  "A  Defence  of  the  Medical  Profession  of  the 
United  States,"  and  was  based  on  the  assumption  that 
the  active  members  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State 
of  New  York  generally,  and  the  chairman  of  their 
committee  (Dr.  Davis)  in  particular,  had  been  slander- 
ing and  defaming  the  profession  to  which  they  be- 
longed. An  assumption,  however,  so  fully  refuted,  by 
the  whole  history  and  conduct  of  that  society  and  the 
individuals  concerned,  as  to  require  no  comments  or 
explanation  at  the  present  time.  As  a  very  large  edition 
of  this  address  was  published  and  widely  circulated 
throughout  the  Union,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  quote  a 
paragraph  or  two  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the 
reader  to  appreciate  its  spirit  and  design.  On  page  20 
Dr.  Paine  says :  "Nor  shall  I  have  discharged  the 
office  which  I  have  assigned  to  myself  till  I  also  place 
on  record  who  they  are  that  malign  the  great  mass  of 
American  physicians  who  are  rendering  more  service 
to  the  cause  of  humanity  than  any  equal  proportion  of 
the  same  profession  in  the  most  favored  States  of 
Europe.  It  is  not  the  man  who  has  officially  promul- 
gated the  views  of  the  State  Medical  Society,  nor  the 
journals  through  which  the  contumelious  representa- 
tion of  the  profession  is  circulated,  that  should  be  held 
responsible,  any  farther  than  as  they,  also,  hold  an 
influence  over  the  public  mind,  and  according  also  to 
the  animus  and  the  extent  to  which  that  influence  may 
be  exerted.  We  must  rather  go  to  the  fountain  from 
which  it  emanates  and  with  acids  and  caustics  try  its 
purity.  We  must  go  to  the  State  Medical  Society  itself, 
interrogate  the  general  character  of  those  who  annually 
convene  at  Albany  during  the  very  opportune  session 
of  the  Legislature,  inquire  how  far,  and  in  what  way, 
they  contribute  to  the  dignity  of  the  profession,  and 
advance  the  interests  of  medical  science.  Nor  would  I 
invite  any  investigation  of  this  nature  for  the  same 
reasons  that  I  have  quoted  Percival's  Medical  Ethics, 

172 


were  those  members  of  the  State  Medical  Society  who 
annually  convene  at  Albany  and  do  the  mining  opera- 
tions, more  than  a  bare  handful  of  the  outs,  and  were 
they  not  so  erroneously  supposed  to  represent  the  voice 
of  the  profession."  Again  he  says :  "And  now,  per- 
haps, we  shall  have  no  difficulty  in  understanding  why 
it  is  so  earnestly  desired  to  extend  the  term  of  instruc- 
tion in  our  medical  colleges  and  also  as  a  preliminary 
requisite  to  admission  into  these  institutions.  There  is 
an  aristocratic  feature  in  this  movement,  of  the  worst 
omen,  however  the  spirit  by  which  it  is  prompted,  may 
belong  to  the  agrarian  policy.  It  is  oppression  towards 
the  poor,  for  the  sake  of  crippling  the  medical  colleges." 
The  foregoing  are  among  the  least  exceptional  para- 
graphs of  this  address,  and  yet  they  plainly  indicate  a 
feeling  of  bitter  opposition,  if  not  contempt,  towards 
those  who  were  laboring  to  unite  the  profession  of  the 
whole  Union  in  one  general  Convention.  The  actual 
influence  of  this  address,  exhibiting  as  it  did,  a  curious 
mixture  of  egotism,  disgusting  flattery  of  the  class  to 
which  it  was  addressed,  and  bitter  opposition  to  the 
movement  for  a  National  Convention,  was  very  im- 
portant, though  widely  different  from  what  was  de- 
signed by  its  author.  It  has  already  been  stated  that 
the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  and  the  local  soci- 
eties of  Philadelphia,  had  declined  to  appoint  delegates 
to  the  proposed  Convention,  and  the  chief  apprehension 
felt  by  the  committee  having  charge  of  the  subject  was 
that  the  absence  of  any  representation  from  so  impor- 
tant a  locality  would  seriously  lessen  the  influence  and 
success  of  the  movement.  But  scarcely  had  the  address 
of  Professor  Paine  reached  the  remoter  sections  of  the 
country  before  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the 
New  York  State  Society  received  a  second  letter  from 
Professor  Huston,  of  Philadelphia,  stating  briefly  that 
they  had  heretofore  declined  to  appoint  delegates  to  the 
proposed  Convention  because,  as  it  had  been  called  to 
meet  in  the  City  of  New  York,  and  at  the  College  edifice 
of  the  New  York  University,  they  had  thought  it  calcu- 
lated to  attract  undue  attention  towards  the  medical 
schools  of  that  city.  But  on  reading  "the  very  singular 
address  of  Professor  Paine,"  they  were  satisfied  that 
whatever  might  have  been  the  motives  of  those  who 
called  the  Convention,  it  was  not  designed  particularly 
to  benefit  the  medical  schools  in  the  City  of  New  York ; 
and  hence  he  would  immediately  convene  the  Society 
over  which  he  presided  to  take  into  consideration  the 
propriety  of  appointing  delegates.  This  was  done,  and 
twelve  erninent  and  active  members  of  the  profession 
in  that  city  were  appointed  to  attend  the  meeting  in 
New  York,  thereby  greatly  adding  to  the   success   of 

173 


the  movement.    We  have  in  these  details  a  most  striking 

illustration  of  that  jealousy  and  mutual  distrust  which 
is  engendered  by  rival  interests  unmodified  by  free  and 
frequent  personal  intercourse.  We  find  the  Faculty  of 
the  Medical  Department  of  the  New  York  University 
violently  opposing  the  movement  for  a  National  Con- 
vention and  stigmatizing  its  authors  as  "miners"  and 
"outs"  even  after  they  had  consented  to  have  the  meet- 
ing held  in  their  own  college  hall,  because  it  originated 
in  a  State  Society  whose  meetings  they  had  entirely 
neglected,  and  of  whose  influence  they  were  jealous, 
while  other  most  influential  schools  were  withholding 
their  aid  and  co-operation  because  they  suspected  the 
whole  movement  calculated,  if  not  designed,  to  favor 
in  a  special  degree  that  same  school  in  New  York.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  illustrate  more  strikingly  that 
sleepless  jealousy  which  pervaded  more  or  less  all  our 
medical  schools,  springing  into  existence  in  rapid  suc- 
cession, as  they  had  done,  or  the  necessity  of  some  gen- 
eral organization,  by  which  the  representatives  of  all 
should  be  brought  into  personal  contact  and  intercourse, 
until  mutual  distrust  should  give  place  to  mutual  re- 
spect and  a  common  object. 

On  Tuesday,  May  5,  1846,  the  delegates  and  members 
of  the  profession  from  different  parts  of  the  United 
States  who  designed  attending  the  proposed  National 
Convention  assembled,  in  accordance  with  the  invita- 
tion of  the  New  York  State  Society,  in  the  Hall  of  the 
Medical  Department  of  the  New  York  University. 
They  were  called  to  order  by  Dr.  Edward  Delafield,  of 
New  York,  on  whose  motion  Dr.  John  Bell,  of  Philadel- 
phia, was  appointed  Chairman,  and  Dr.  William  P. 
Buel,  of  New  York,  Secretary,  until  permanent  officers 
should  be  duly  chosen.  A  Committee  was  then  appointed 
to  receive  the  credentials  of  delegates,  consisting  of 
Drs.  H.  W.  Baxter,  of  Maryland,  N.  S.  Davis,  of  New 
York,  and  Richard  D.  Arnold,  of  Georgia.  This  Com- 
mittee soon  reported  the  reception  of  credentials  con- 
taining the  names  of  one  hundred  and  nineteen  dele- 
gates, eighty  of  whom  were  present  at  the  opening  of 
the  Convention. 

The  latter  number  was  subsequently  m creased  to  near 
one  hundred,  representing  societies  and  colleges  in  six- 
teen different  States,  viz. :  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, Georgia,  Mississippi,  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Ten- 
nessee. 

A  Committee  of  one  from  each  State  represented  re- 
ported the  names  of  the  following  gentlemen  for  per- 
manent officers  of  the  Convention,  and  they  were  unan- 
imously   elected,    viz. :      For    President,    Dr.    Jonathan 

174 


Knight,*  of  New  Haven,  Conn.;  for  Vice-Presidents, 
Dr.  John  Bell,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Dr.  Edward  Dela- 
field,  of  New  York  City;  for  Secretaries,  Dr.  Richard 
D.  Arnold,  of  Savannah,  Ga. ;  Dr.  Alfred  Stille,  of 
Philadelphia,  Pa.  Thus  was  completed  in  the  midst  of 
the  most  perfect  harmony  and  good  feeling  the  organi- 
zation of  the  first  National  Convention  of  members  of 
the  medical  profession  ever  convened  in  the  United 
States.  And  when  we  remember  that  the  number  in 
attendance  was  at  least  respectable;  that  among  them 
were  many  of  the  most  eminent  in  the  profession;  that 
they  were  gathered  from  all  sections  of  the  Union,  from 
the  hills  of  New  England,  the  broad  prairies  of  the 
West,  and  the  sunny  plantations  of  the  South ;  not, 
however,  for  purposes  of  political  preferment  or  pecuni- 
ary gain,  but  to  give  each  other  the  warm  hand  of 
friendship  and  unite  in  the  adoption  of  measures  for 
the  elevation  and  advancement  of  the  noblest  of  tem- 
poral pursuits,  we  are  constrained  to  regard  it  as  one 
of  the  most  interesting  assemblages  ever  convened 
since  the  organization  of  the  benign  government  under 
which  we  live. 

As  soon,  however,  as  the  officers  elect  had  been  con- 
ducted to  their  respective  places.  Dr.  Gunning  S.  Bed- 
ford, the  colleague  of  Dr.  Martyn  Paine,  and  a  dele- 
gate from  the  faculty  of  the  Medical  Department  of  the 
New  York  University,  arose,  and,  after  some  general 
remarks  in  reference  to  the  benefits  of  a  general  Con- 
vention of  medical  men,  moved  the  following  preamble 
and  resolution,  viz. : 

"Whereas,  The  Call  of  the  State  Medical  Society  of 
the  State  of  New  York  for  a  National  Medical  Society, 
to  be  held  in  the  City  of  New  York  on  the  first  Tuesday 
in  May,  has  failed  in  a  representation  from  one-half  of 
the  United  States  and  from  a  majority  of  the  medical 
colleges,  and 

"Whereas,  The  State  Medical  Society  has  emphati- 
cally stated  that  there  is  no  mode  of  accomplishing  the 
object  of  the  Convention  without  a  concert  of  action  on 
the  part  of  medical  societies,  colleges  and  institutions 
of  all  the  United  States ;    therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  this  Convention  adjourn  sine  die." 

This  proposition  was  immediately  seconded  by  Dr. 
G.  S.  Pattison,  the  colleague  of  Professor  Bedford,  and 
delegate  from  the  same  faculty.  This  proposition,  com- 
ing at  such  time,  and  directly  from  the  representatives 
of  the  school  in  whose  college  building  the  Convention 
had  assembled,  took  every  member  by  surprise.  But 
after  one  or  two  minutes  of  entire  silence,  the  question 


*For  Biography  of  Dr.  Knight,  see  New  Jersey  Medical  Report 
for  January,    1854,   page   34. 

175 


was  very  generally  called  for,  and  being  taken  by  yeas 
and  nays,  resulted  as  follows,  viz. :  Yeas,  2,  Drs.  Bed- 
ford and  Pattison.    Nays,  74.  , 

The  result  of  the  vote  having  been  announced,  con- 
siderable warmth  of  feeling  was  manifested  by  many 
members,  who  regarded  the  motion  of  Dr.  Bedford  as  a 
deliberate  attempt  to  break  up  the  convention,  and  as 
little  less  than  an  insult  to  all  its  members. 

Several  motions  were  made,  having  for  their  object 
the  immediate  withdrawal  from  the  college  edifice  of 
the  New  York  University,  but  after  explanation  and 
apologies  from  both  Drs.  Bedford  and  Pattison,  the 
subject  was  laid  on  the  table.  A  committee  of  nine 
was  then  appointed  "to  bring  the  subject  of  medical 
education  before  the  convention,  in  the  form  of  distinct 
propositions,  suitable  for  discussion  and  action."  This 
committee  readily  agreed  upon  the  following  proposi- 
tions, viz. : 

First — That  it  is  expedient  for  the  medical  profession 
of  the  United  States  to  institute  a  National  Medical 
Association. 

Second — That  it  is  desirable  that  a  uniform  and 
elevated  standard  of  requirements  for  the  degree  M.D. 
should  be  adopted  by  all  the  medical  schools  in  the 
United  States. 

Third — That  it  is  desirable  that  young  men,  before 
being  received  as  students  of  medicine,  should  have 
acquired  a  suitable  preliminary  education. 

Fourth — That  it  is  expedient  that  the  medical  pro- 
fession in  the  United  States  should  be  governed  by  the 
same  code  of  Medical  Ethics. 

These  were  reported  to  the  Convention,  with  the 
recommendation  that  a  committee  of  seven  be  ap- 
pointed on  each  subject,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to 
report  at  a  meeting  to  be  held  in  the  City  of  Phila- 
delphia, on  the  first  Wednesday  in  May,  1847.  The 
same  committee  also  recommended  the  appointment  of 
a  committee  of  seven  "to  prepare  and  discuss  an  address 
to  the  diflferent  regularly  organized  medical  societies 
and  chartered  medical  schools  in  the  United  States, 
setting  forth  the  objects  of  the  National  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, and  inviting  them  to  send  delegates  to  the 
convention  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia  in  May,  1847." 

After  the  signal  failure  of  the  delegates  from  the 
New  York  University  to  interrupt  the  progress  of  the 
convention  which  assembled  in  New  York,  no  further 
open  opposition  to  the  movement,  which  had  been  com- 
menced, was  manifested  previous  to  the  next  meeting. 
On  the  contrary,  the  President,  Dr.  Knight,  shortly 
after  the  first  meeting,   issued  an  address  to  the  pro- 

176 


fession  on  behalf  of  the  committee  appointed  for  that 
purpose,  in  which  he  set  forth  briefly  and  clearly  the 
objects  aimed  at,  and  urged  upon  the  profession  the 
importance  of  a  more  full  representation  at  the  meeting 
to  be  held  in  Philadelphia.  The  medical  periodicals 
of  the  country,  very  generally,  published  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Convention  in  New  York,  and  thereby 
aided  much  to  bring  the  subject  to  the  notice  of  a 
much  larger  number  of  members  of  the  profession.  In 
the  meantime,  valedictory  and  anniversary  addresses, 
discussing,  more  or  less,  the  subject  of  medical  educa- 
tion, were  written  and  widely  circulated  by  Drs.  John 
W.  Francis,  John  Watson,  and  F.  Campbell  Stewart, 
of  New  York;  Drs.  Samuel  Jackson  and  Alfred  Stille, 
of  Philadelphia;  Dr.  S.  H.  Dickson,  of  Charleston, 
and  many  others.  The  combined  influence  of  all  these 
agencies,  with  the  continued  exertions  of  those  who 
first  put  the  ball  in  motion,  served  to  awaken  an  almost 
universal  interest  in  the  subject.  On  the  fifth  of  May, 
1847,  the  delegates  appointed  by  the  societies,  colleges 
and  other  medical  institutions  throughout  the  several 
States  assembled  in  the  Hall  of  the  "Academy  of  Nat- 
ural Sciences,"  in  Philadelphia,  and  were  cordially 
welcomed  by  Dr.  Isaac  Hays,  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Arrangements,  who  called  the  convention  to 
order,  and  nominated  Dr.  Jonathan  Knight,  of  New 
Haven,  as  temporary  chairman. 

This  nomination  was  unanimously  confirmed,  and 
Drs.  Arnold,  of  Georgia,  and  Stille,  of  Philadelphia, 
were  appointed  secretaries.  A  committee  for  the  recep- 
tion of  credentials  of  delegates  was  appointed,  and  an- 
other, consisting  of  one  member  from  each  State  rep- 
sented,  to  report  the  names  of  suitable  candidates  for 
election  as  permanent  officers  of  the  Convention.  The 
first  committee  reported,  as  present,  the  names  of  near 
two  hundred  and  fifty  delegates,  representing  more 
than  forty  medical  societies,  and  twenty-eight  colleges, 
embracing  medical  institutions  in  twenty-two  States 
and  the  District  of  Columbia.  The  Committee  on 
Nominations  recommended  for  President,  Dr.  Jona- 
than Knight,  of  Connecticut;  for  Vice-Presidents,  Drs. 
Alexander  H.  Stevens,  of  New  York,  George  B.  Wood, 
of  Pennsylvania,  A.  H.  Buchanan,  of  Tennessee,  John 
Harrison,  of  Louisiana;  and  for  Secretaries,  Drs.  R. 
D.  Arnold,  of  Georgia,  Alfred  Stille.  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  F.  Campbell  Stewart,  of  New  York.  These  were 
all  unanimously  elected  by  the  Convention.  The  first 
business  of  importance  which  engaged  the  attention  of 
the  Convention  was  the  reports  of  the  committees  ap- 
pointed at  the  previous  meeting  in  New  York.  Reports 
were    received    during    the    first    day    from    Dr.    John 


177 


Watson,  of  New  York,  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
appointed  "to  prepare  a  plan  of  organization  for  a 
National  Medical  Association,"  from  Dr.  John  H. 
Griscom,  of  New  York,  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
appointed  to  consider  the  subject  of  procuring,  from 
the  State  governments,  uniform  and  efficient  laws  for 
the  registration  of  births,  marriages  and  deaths ;  also, 
from  the  same,  on  a  general  nomenclature  of  diseases ; 
from  Dr.  James  Couper,  of  Delaware,  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  "on  Preliminary  Education" ;  and  from 
Dr.  Isaac  Hays,  in  the  subject  of  Medical  Ethics.  These 
several  reports,  except  the  last,  were  received,  laid  on 
the  table,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

During  the  following  morning  session,  additional 
reports  were  received  from  Dr.  John  Bell,  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  appointed  to  prepare  a  code  of 
Medical  Ethics ;  from  Dr.  James  McNaughton,  of 
Albany,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  appointed  to  con- 
sider the  subject  of  the  union  of  teaching  and  licensing 
in  the  same  hands,  signed  by  a  minority  of  the  Com- 
mittee; and  another  report  on  the  same  subject,  from 
Dr.  Isaac  Parrish,  of  Philadelphia,  signed  by  a  majority 
of  the  Committee.  These  reports  were  also  received 
and  ordered  to  be  printed.  The  report  of  Dr.  Couper, 
from  the  Committee  on  the  subject  of  "Preliminary 
Education,"  was  first  taken  up  for  consideration ;  and 
after  a  free  interchange  of  opinions,  the  report,  with  the 
resolutions  appended  thereto,  was  adopted,  and  ordered 
to  be  published  as  a  part  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Convention.  The  resolutions  as  adopted  were  as  fol- 
lows, viz. : 

"Resolved,  That  this  Convention  earnestly  recom- 
mends to  the  members  of  the  medical  profession 
throughout  the  United  States,  to  satisfy  themselves, 
either  by  personal  inquiry  or  written  certificate  of  com- 
petent persons,  before  receiving  young  men  into  their 
offices  as  students,  that  they  are  of  good  moral  char- 
acter, and  that  they  have  acquired  a  good  English  edu- 
cation, a  knowledge  of  natural  philosophy,  and  the  ele- 
mentary mathematical  sciences,  including  geometry  and 
algebra,  and  such  an  acquaintance,  at  least,  with  the 
Latin  and  Greek  languages  as  will  enable  them  to  ap- 
preciate the  technical  language  of  medicine  and  read 
and  write  prescriptions. 

"Resolved,  That  this  Convention  also  recommends  to 
the  members  of  the  medical  profession  of  the  United 
States,  when  they  have  satisfied  themselves  that  a 
yoimg  man  possesses  the  qualifications  specified  in  the 
preceding  resolution,  to  give  him  a  written  certificate 
stating  that  fact,  and  recording  also  the  date  of  his  ad- 
mission as  a  medical  student,  to  be  carried  with  him  as 

178 


a  warrant  for  his  reception  into  the  medical  college  in 
which  he  may  intend  to  pursue  his  studies. 

"Resolved,  That  all  the  medical  colleges  in  the  United 
States  be  and  they  are  hereby  recommended  and  re- 
quested to  require  such  a  certificate  of  every  student  of 
medicine  applying  for  matriculation,  and  when  publish- 
ing their  annual  lists  of  graduates  to  accompany  the 
name  of  the  graduate  with  the  name  and  residence  of 
his  preceptor,  the  name  of  the  latter  being  clearly  and 
distinctly  presented  as  certifying  to  the  qualification  of 
preliminary  education." 

Moderate  as  is  the  standard  of  preliminary  attain- 
ments required  by  these  resolutions,  there  were  some  in 
the  Convention  who  spoke  in  opposition  to  its  adoption, 
on  the  ground  that  it  would  prevent  many  young  men 
of  limited  means  from  entering  the  profession  whose 
natural  endowments  would  carry  them  to  the  highest 
rank,  notwithstanding  their  inadequate  preliminary  prep- 
aration. On  the  other  hand,  it  was  admitted  that  there 
had  been  countries  and  periods  in  the  world's  history 
when  the  obstacles,  pecuniary  and  otherwise,  in  the  way 
of  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the  ordinary  branches  of  sci- 
ence, were  so  numerous  as  to  preclude  all  but  the  fa- 
vored few  from  its  enjoyment. 

In  such  places  and  at  such  times  the  objection  to  the 
resolutions  might  have  some  force.  But  in  our  country 
of  schoolhouses  and  almost  unlimited  facilities  for  ac- 
quiring a  knowledge  of,  at  least,  the  ordinary  branches 
of  learning,  that  a  young  man  who  had  not  mental  en- 
ergy and  perseverance  enough  to  comply  with  the  stand- 
ard proposed  in  the  resolutions  certainly  had  not  enough 
to  enable  him  to  do  justice  to  a  profession  as  extensive, 
intricate  and  arduous  as  ours. 

The  latter  view  was  urged  with  much  force  by  Dr. 
N.  S.  Davis,  then  a  delegate  from  the  New  York  State 
Medical  Society.  The  resolutions  were  adopted  by 
nearly  a  unanimous  vote,  and  the  recommendations  they 
contain  have  been  reaffirmed  by  almost  every  meeting 
of  the  American  Medical  Association  since. 

The  Convention  next  took  up  the  report  of  Dr.  R.  W. 
Haxall,  of  Virginia,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  ap- 
pointed to  recommend  a  uniform  standard  of  require- 
ments for  the  degree  of  M.  D.  The  several  resolutions 
appended  to  the  report  were  considered  seriatim,  and 
after  receiving  various  amendments,  were  adopted  as 
follows,  viz. : 

"Resolved,  ist,  That  it  be  recommended  to  all  the 
colleges  to  extend  the  period  employed  in  lecturing  from 
four  to  six  months. 

"2d,  That  no  student  shall  become  a  candidate  for  the 
degree  of  M.  D.  unless  he  shall  have  devoted  three  en- 

179 


tire  years  to  the  study  of  medicine,  including  the  time 
allotted  to  attendance  upon  the  lectures. 

"3d,  That  the  candidate  shall  have  attended  two  full 
courses  of  lectures ;  that  he  shall  be  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  and  in  all  cases  shall  produce  the  certificate  of  his 
preceptor  to  prove  when  he  commenced  his  studies. 

"4th,  That  the  certificate  of  no  preceptor  shall  be  re- 
ceived who  is  avowedly  and  notoriously  an  irregular 
practitioner,  whether  he  shall  possess  the  degree  of 
M.D.  or  not. 

"5th,  That  the  several  branches  of  medical  education 
already  named  in  this  report,  (viz. :  theory  and  practice 
of  medicine,  principles  and  practice  of  surgery,  general 
and  special  anatomy,  physiology  and  pathology,  materia 
medica,  therapeutics  and  pharmacy,  midwifery,  and 
diseases  of  women  and  children,  chemistry  and  medical 
jurisprudence),  be  taught  in  all  the  colleges,  and  that 
the  number  of  professors  be  increased  to  seven. 

"6th,  That  it  is  required  of  candidates  that  they  shall 
have  steadily  devoted  three  months  to  dissections. 

"7th,  That  it  is  incumbent  upon  preceptors  to  avail 
themselves  of  every  opportunity  to  impart  clinical  in- 
struction to  their  pupils,  and  upon  medical  colleges  to 
require  candidates  for  graduation  to  show  that  they  have 
attended  on  hospital  practice  for  one  session,  whenever 
it  can  be  accomplished,  for  the  advancement  of  the  same 
end. 

"8th,  That  it  be  suggested  to  the  faculties  of  the  vari- 
ous medical  institutions  of  the  country  to  adopt  some 
efficient  means  for  ascertaining  that  their  students  are 
actually  in  attendance  on  their  lectures. 

"9th,  That  it  is  incumbent  on  all  schools  and  colleges 
granting  diplomas  fully  to  carry  out  the  above  requi- 
sitions. 

"loth,  That  it  be  considered  the  duty  of  preceptors  to 
advise  their  students  to  attend  only  such  institutions  as 
shall  rigidly  adhere  to  the  recommendations  herein  con- 
tained."' 

Much  opposition  was  manifected  by  some  of  those 
connected  with  the  colleges  to  the  adoption  of  the  first 
of  the  foregoing  resolutions.  It  was  alleged  that  the 
great  majority  of  medical  students  could  not  be  kept  in 
attendance  on  the  colleges  continuously  for  six  months, 
there  being  many  in  all  the  colleges  who  practically  cut 
short  even  a  four  months'  course  by  coming  late  or 
leaving  before  the  close.  This,  together  with  all  the 
other  resolutions,  were  adopted,  however,  by  large  ma- 
jorities, and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  very  few,  if 
any,  were  found  to  claim  that  less  than  six  months 
was  really  sufficient  to  present  the  various  branches  of 

180 


medical  science  with  that  fulness  which  ought  to  be 
enforced  in  a  college  course. 

The  report  on  Medical  Ethics  made  by  Drs.  Bell  and 
Hays  was  very  full  and  explicit,  and  was  unanimously 
adopted  by  the  Convention.  The  same  was  true  of  the 
reports  of  Dr.  Griscom  on  "a  registration  of  births, 
marriages  and  deaths,"  and  on  "nomenclature  of  dis- 
eases adapted  to  the  United  States,  having  reference  to 
a  general  registration  of  deaths."  These  were  all 
adopted,  and  may  be  found  in  the  first  volume  of  Trans- 
actions of  the  American  Medical  Association.  Another 
subject  which  elicited  discussion  and  much  attention 
was     that  embodied  in  the  following  resolution,  viz. : 

"Resolved,  That  the  union  of  the  business  of  teaching 
and  licensing  in  the  same  hands  is  wrong  in  principle 
and  liable  to  great  abuse  in  practice.  Instead  of  con- 
ferring the  right  to  license  on  medical  colleges  and  State 
and  county  medical  societies,  it  should  be  restricted  to 
one  board  in  each  State,  composed  in  fair  proportion  of 
the  representatives  from  its  medical  colleges  and  the 
profession  at  large,  and  the  pay  for  whose  services  as 
examiners  should  in  no  degree  depend  on  the  number 
licensed  by  them." 

[How  much  Mr.  York's  influence  preponderated  in  the 
organization  of  the  National  Association  can  be  thor- 
oughly appreciated  from  the  makeup  of  the  important 
committee  whose  report  is  thus  summarized. — Ed.] 

Perhaps  the  most  important  subject  which  engaged 
the  attention  of  this  Convention  was  the  report  of  the 
Committee  on  a  Plan  for  Organizing  a  Permanent  Na- 
tional Association.  This  Committee,  consisting  of  Drs. 
John  Watson,  John  Stearns,  F.  Campbell  Stewart  and 
N.  S.  Davis,  of  New  York;  A.  Stille,  of  Philadelphia; 
W.  H.  Cogswell,  of  New  London,  Conn.,  and  E.  D. 
Fenner,  of  New  Orleans,  La.,  reported  in  full,  a  con- 
stitution designed  to  effect  a  permanent  National  or- 
ganization. The  Committee  adopted  as  the  basis  of 
organization  the  principle  of  representation  by  making 
the  active  members  of  the  Association  consist  of  dele- 
gates from  medical  societies  and  institutions  in  accord- 
ance with  a  fixed  numeral  ratio.  In  the  preamble  at- 
tached to  the  constitution,  the  purposes  for  which  the 
Association  is  organized  are  declared  to  be  "for  cul- 
tivating and  advancing  medical  knowledge,  for  ele- 
vating the  standard  of  medical  education,  for  promoting 
the  usefulness,  honor  and  interests  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession, for  enlightening  and  directing  public  opinion  in 
regard  to  the  duties,  responsibilities  and  requirements 
of  medical  men,  for  exciting  and  encouraging  emulation 
and  concert  of  action  in  the  medical  profession,  and  for 
facilitating  and  fastening  friendly  intercourse  between 
those  engaged  in  it." 

i8i 


To  more  certainly  efifect  these  objects  the  Committee 
deemed  it  important  to  hold  out  the  strongest  induce- 
ments for  the  formation  of  State  and  local  associations 
which  should  be  auxiliary  to  the  national  one.  Hence, 
they  so  framed  the  constitution  as  to  make  the  great 
majority  of  the  members  of  the  National  Association 
consist  of  delegates  from  permanently  organized  State 
and  county  medical  societies  throughout  the  Union. 

To  insure,  also,  a  due  share  of  the  attention  of  the 
Association  to  the  cultivation  of  medical  science  and 
literature,  the  constitution  provided  for  the  annual  ap- 
pointment of  standing  committees,  each  consisting  of 
seven  members,  on  the  following  subjects,  viz.: 

A  Committee  on  Medical  Sciences ;  on  Practical 
Medicine ;  on  Surgery ;  on  Obstetrics ;  on  Medical 
Education ;  on  Medical  Literature,  and  on  Publication. 
The  Articles  of  the  Constitution  were  considered 
separately,  and  also  various  amendments,  only  one  of 
which,  however,  proposed  to  alter  essentially  the  basis 
or  principle  of  organization.  This  was  presented  by 
Dr.  Isaac  Hays,  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  as  follows, 
viz. : 

"Resolved,  That  the  report  be  referred  back  to  the 
Committee,  with  instructions  to  report  a  plan  of  organi- 
zation in  accordance  with  the  following  sketch : 

"ist.  The  Society  to  consist  of  members  to  be  elected 
by  the  Association,  directly  or  through  its  council. 

"2d.  Members,  before  admission  to  the  Association, 
to  sign  a  promise  to  conform  to  the  laws  of  the  Asso- 
tiation. 

"3d,  Members  who  violate  this  pledge  to  be  liable  to 
expulsion,  and  to  be  deprived  of  the  rights  of  brother- 
hood. 

'■4th,  For  the  appointment  of  a  council,  to  consist  of 

the  officers  of  the  Society  and  of  councillors  to 

be  elected  annually,  or  all  the  former,  and  a  portion, 
at  least,  of  the  latter,  to  be  elected  annually.  The 
councillors  to  have  the  superintendence  of  the  concerns 
and  publications  of  the  Association,  and  to  report  the 
proceedings  of  the  Association  at  its  annual  meeting." 

[New  York  constantly  kept  the  basic  question  of  the 
reform  of  medical  education  before  the  convention. — 
Ed.] 

These  propositions  were  all  adopted  by  the  conven- 
tion, and  the  required  committees  appointed.  Dr.  N. 
S.  Davis,  who  was  Chairman  of  the  Business  Com- 
mittee, urged  the  following  resolution  as  one  suitable 
to  be  recommended  as  an  additional  subject  for  the 
consideration  of  the  Convention.  It  was  opposed  by 
Dr.   Hays,    and    other   members   of   the   committee,   on 

182 


the  ground  that  it  would  be  likely  to  excite  discord, 
and  was  rejected  by  the  committee. 

"Resolved,  That  the  union  of  the  business  of  teach- 
ing and  licensing  in  the  same  hands  is  wrong  in  prin- 
ciple, and  liable  to  great  abuse  in  practice.  Instead  of 
conferring  the  right  to  license  on  medical  colleges,  and 
State  and  county  medical  societies,  it  should  be  re- 
stricted to  one  board  in  each  State,  composed  in  fair 
proportion  of  representatives  from  its  medical  colleges, 
and  the  profession  at  large,  and  the  pay  for  whose 
services  as  examiners  should  in  no  degree  depend  on 
the  number  licensed  by  them." 

The  same  resolution  was  subsequently  handed  to  Dr. 
O.  S.  Bartles,  and  by  him  presented  to  the  Convention. 
An  interesting  and  spirited  discussion  followed,  which 
was  participated  in  by  Drs.  Sumner,  F.  Campbell 
Stewart,  Meredith  Clymer,  Isaac  Parrish,  H.  W.  Bax- 
ley,  J.  R.  Manley,  S.  Hasbrouck,  and  N.  S.  Davis. 
Motions  were  made  by  those  opposed  to  entertaining 
the  resolution  to  lay  it  on  the  table,  and  to  refer  it  to 
some  one  of  the  committees  already  appointed.  These 
motions  were  either  withdrawn,  or  severally  voted 
down,  and  the  resolution  was  finally  referred  to  a 
special  committee  of  seven,  with  instructions  to  report 
on  the  same,  at  the  meeting  proposed  to  be  held  in 
Philadelphia,  in  May,  1847.  On  motion  of  Dr.  John 
H.  Griscom,  committees  were  appointed  to  report  at 
the  same  time  and  place  on  the  most  efficient  measures 
for  effecting  a  registration  of  births,  marriages,  and 
deaths,  throughout  all  the  States  of  the  Union ;  and 
also  on  a  nomenclature  of  diseases  adapted  to  the 
United  States,  having  reference  to  a  general  registra- 
tion of  deaths.  After  passing  the  usual  resolutions, 
complimenting  the  officers  of  the  Convention,  and 
thanking  the  medical  colleges  of  the  city  for  freely 
tendering  the  use  of  their  rooms  for  its  meetings,  the 
session  was  adjourned  sine  die  on  the  evening  of  May 
6,  1846.  All  the  business  of  the  Convention  was  con- 
ducted with  decorum,  and  the  most  cordial  friendship, 
except  that  relating  to  the  preamble  and  resolution 
introduced  by  Dr.  Bedford,  and  even  this  gave  rise  to 
only  a  momentary  feeling  of  excitement,  or  rather  in- 
dignation, which  was  quickly  lost  in  the  universal  de- 
termination to  act  solely  for  the  elevation  and  advance- 
ment of  the  whole  profession.  The  Convention  was 
fortunate  in  the  selection  of  its  officers.  Dr.  Knight 
not  only  presided  with  dignity,  but  displayed  a  famil- 
iarity with  parliamentary  usages,  and  promptness,  and 
pleasing  urbanity  rarely  united  in  the  same  individual. 
In  looking  over  the  list  of  delegates  in  attendance,  the 
reader  will  be  surprised  at  the  disparity  of  representa- 

183 


tion  from  States  located  equally  contiguous  to  the  place 
of  meeting. 

Thus,  of  the  New  England  States,  Connecticut  had 
five  delegates;  Massachusetts,  one;  Rhode  Island,  one; 
Vermont,  three ;  New  Hampshire,  two ;  and  Maine, 
none.  Of  the  middle  States,  Pennsylvania  had  fourteen, 
two  of  whom  represented  the  Medical  Department  of 
Pennsylvania  College,  while  all  the  rest  were  dele- 
gates from  the  Philadelphia  Medical  Society ;  Dela- 
ware had  five,  all  of  whom  represented  medical  so- 
cieties ;  and  New  Jersey  had  only  two,  who  were  made 
members  by  invitation.  Of  the  Southern  States,  Mary- 
represent  the  State  of  New  York,  while  Maine,  North 
and  South  Carolina,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Kentucky, 
States,  Indiana  had  one ;  and  Illinois,  one.  This  leaves 
little  more  than  half  of  the  entire  number  present,  to 
represent  the  State  of  New  York,  while  Maine,  North 
and  South  Carolina,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Kentucky, 
Missouri,  Ohio,  Michigan  and  Texas  were  entirely  un- 
represented. Eleven  medical  colleges  were  represented, 
constituting  only  about  one-third  of  the  whole  number 
in  the  United  States.  The  absence  of  a  representation 
from  so  large  a  number  of  States  and  colleges  was 
owing  to  various  causes.  In  some  States,  neither 
medical  societies  nor  colleges  existed,  and  individual 
members  of  the  profession  did  not  feel  free  to  take 
upon  themselves  the  office  of  delegates.  This  was  the 
case  in  North  Carolina,  and  virtually  so  in  most  of  the 
unrepresented  States  in  the  South  and  West.  For 
though  State  and  district  medical  societies  had  been 
previously  organized  in  most  of  them,  yet  they  had 
ceased  to  maintain  an  active  existence.  Another  cause 
was  a  want  of  confidence  in  the  success  of  the  move- 
ment. 

Many  who  ardently  desired  a  full  convention,  and 
were  friendly  to  any  measures  calculated  to  elevate  the 
standard  of  medical  education,  were  deterred  from 
attending  by  the  belief  that  not  a  sufficient  number  of 
others  would  attend  to  warrant  the  transaction  of  any 
business  of  importance.  But  still  another  cause,  which 
affected  more  particularly  the  medical  colleges,  was  a 
feeling  of  distrust  in  regard  to  the  motives  of  those 
who  issued  the  call  for  the  Convention.  There  was  a 
feeling  of  apprehension,  increased  to  some  extent, 
doubtless,  by  the  address  of  Professor  Paine,  that  the 
whole  movement  originated  in  a  spirit  of  radicalism 
and  enmity  to  the  schools.  And  though  such  a  feelmg 
was  without  the  shadow  of  a  foundation  in  fact,  yet 
it  was  evidently  the  chief  cause  of  preventmg  the 
attendance  of  delegates  from  a  majority  of  the  medical 
colleges    in    the    Union.      Another    feature    which    will 

184 


strike  the  mind,  in  looking  over  the  list  of  delegates 
in  attendance,  is  the  absence  of  those  to  whom  the  pro- 
fession had  long  been  accustomed  to  look  as  leaders 
in  all  important  professional  matters.  We  look  over 
the  list  in  vain  for  the  names  of  Warren,  Murray, 
Stevens,  Chapman,  Drake,  and  other  veteran  teachers 
in  medicine.  Almost  the  only  ones  present  belonging 
to  this  class  were  Drs.  Knight,  Manley,  Stevens  and 
Delafield.  Hence  it  may  be  said  with  propriety  that 
the  Convention  was  composed  of  the  younger,  more 
active,  and,  perhaps,  more  ambitious  members  of  the 
profession. 

And  yet,  both  the  discussions  and  action  of  the  Con- 
vention were  characterized  by  that  moderation,  coupled 
with  a  spirit  of  determined  perseverance,  which  was 
well  calculated  to  inspire  confidence  alike  in  the  motives 
of  its  members,  and  the  final  success  of  the  enterprise 
in  which  they  had  engaged.  It  will  be  noticed,  that  all 
the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  were  made  to  assume 
the  character  strictly  of  preliminary  action.  Instead  of 
hastily  declaring  their  sentiments  by  formal  resolutions, 
or  at  once  recommending  measures  about  which  there 
might  be  differences  of  opinion,  they  simply  selected 
the  most  important  topics  connected  with  the  education 
of  the  profession,  and  referred  them  to  able  committees, 
with  instructions  to  report  after  ample  time  for  de- 
liberation. 


PART  III. 
CHAPTER  I. 

SEMI-CENTENNIAL  OF  THE  SOCIETY. 

The  only  formal  celebration  of  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  the  State  Med- 
ical Society  seems  to  have  been  the  semi-cen- 
tennial address  delivered  by  Dr.  Alden  March, 
the  President  of  the  Society,  in  the  capitol  at 
Albany,  February  4,  1857.  Dr.  March  reviewed 
the  progress  of  science  and  industry  during  the 
preceding  half  century  and  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  medicine  had  kept  pace  with  the  rest 
of  progress  in  the  arts  and  sciences.  Because  of 
the  occasion  of  its  delivery,  this  address  has 
seemed  worth  while  presenting  in  rather  lengthy 
abstracts.  There  are  included  in  Dr.  March's 
address,   lists  of  the  original  charter  members 

i8s 


and  the  presidents  of  the  Society  up  to  his  time, 
which  more  properly  find  their  place  in  other 
parts  of  the  present  volume,  and  consequently 
have  been  omitted  here.  Dr.  March's  address 
has  an  additional  interest  on  account  of  a  cer- 
tain naivete  of  expression  and  an  enthusiastic 
recognition  of  advances  in  the  arts  and  in  indus- 
trial applications  that  we  are  much  more  apt  to 
think  of  as  a  characteristic  of  the  latter  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century  rather  than  the  middle  of 
it. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  there  are  so 
many  things  in  his  laudatory  review  of  the  ac- 
complishments of  the  preceding  half  century, 
that  would  occur  to  us  of  the  twentieth  century 
as  probably  much  more  near  to  us  than  the  date 
he  assigns  to  them,  that  the  reader  is  sure  to  be 
impressed  by  the  rapid  progress  made  by  the 
American  people  at  a  time  when  we  are  inclined 
to  think  of  them  as  rather  backward.  Dr. 
March's  address  contains  an  immense  amount  of 
precious  knowledge,  condensed  into  a  very  short 
space,  and  really  serves  to  give  a  very  vivid  pic- 
ture of  the  times  he  wished  to  recall.  This  is 
true  not  only  with  regard  to  medicine,  but  with 
regard  to  practically  all  the  arts  and  sciences  and 
even  agriculture. 

It  is  extremely  interesting  to  find  that  a  half 
century  ago  the  president  of  the  State  Medical 
Society  of  New  York  considered  that  patholog- 
ical chemistry  should  be  studied  much  more 
than  had  been  hitherto  the  custom.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  this  is  still,  and  since  the  beginning  of 
the  twentieth  century  even  more  insistently,  the 
advice  of  those  of  largest  experience  in  medicine. 
In  1857,  Dr.  March  expected  that  the  explana- 
tion of  the  cause  of  disease  would  be  found  in 
various  chemical  changes  in  the  fluids  of  the 
body.  The  study  of  diseased  tissues  had  meant 
so  much  for  medicine  that  at  least  as  much  more 
advance  might  be   expected   from  the   detailed 

186 


investigation  of  the  changes  in  the  fluids  of  the 
body,  and  he  pointed  to  the  then  comparatively 
recent  work  of  Dr.  Bright  as  a  proof  of  this. 
At  that  time  there  was  as  yet  no  hint  of  the  de- 
velopment that  bacteriology  was  to  take,  a  de- 
velopment that  was  to  have  as  one  of  its  prin- 
cipal results  the  diversion  of  attention  from 
pathological  chemistry  to  that  of  the  minute 
organisms  directly  causative  of  disease. 

Those  who  are  interested  in  vital  statistics  will 
find  an  extremely  informing  review  of  certain 
phases  of  the  death-rate  and  of  the  average 
length  of  life  in  the  large  cities  of  the  civilized 
world  that  may  not  readily  be  encountered  in  such 
short  space  elsewhere.  Dr.  March  notes  that, 
during  the  half  century  of  the  existence  of  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  the 
length  of  life  had  been  increased  very  materially. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century  at 
least  one-half  the  population  of  the  large  cities 
of  the  world  perished  before  the  age  of  eighteen 
years.  At  the  time  of  the  celebration  of  the  semi- 
centennial one-half  the  population  reached  the 
age  of  nearly  44  years. 

ABSTR.\CT   OF   THE    SEMI-CENTENNIAL   ADDRESS,    DE- 
LIVERED BEFORE  THE  MEDICAL  SOCIETY  OF  THE 
STATE  OF   NEW  YORK  AND   MEMBERS   OF  THE 
LEGISLATURE  IN  THE  CAPITOL  AT  ALBANY, 
FEBRUARY    4,    1857.    BY    ALDEN    MARCH, 
M.D.,  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SOCIETY. 

The  poet  speaks  of  the  wheels  of  time — the  philoso- 
pher of  the  irresistible  march  of  time — and  the  good  old 
patient  and  afflicted  man  of  God  compared  the  course 
of  time  of  the  "days  of  his  years"  to  the  rapid  flight  of 
the  eagle,  as  he  cleaves  the  vault  of  heaven  in  seeking 
his  prey;  or  to  the  lightning  speed  of  the  weaver's  shut- 
tle, as  it  flits  across  the  eye's  field  of  vision. 

Swift  and  irresistible  as  is  the  course  of  time,  never- 
theless, by  the  ingenuity  of  man,  it  has  been  measured 
and  divided  into  periods. 

The  steady  and  unvarying  tick — tick — of  yonder  clock 
marks  its  smaller  divisions.  A  certain  number  of  these 
ticks  make  a  second — a  minute — an  hour — a  day— a 
week — a  month — a  year !  And  when  we  come  to  in- 
crease the  last   division  by  fifty — half  a  century ! — we 

187 


arrive  at  a  period  which  indicates  the  semi-centennial 
anniversary  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New 
York — an  event  which  we  are  now  convened  to  cele- 
brate. 

In  youth  we  are  full  of  ambition  and  look  to  the  de- 
velopments of  riper  years  to  crown  the  joys  of  our  high- 
est aspirations.    The  prospective  is  the  most  prominent. 

In  manhood  we  begin  to  feel  our  strength,  both  phy- 
sically and  intellectually.  At  an  advanced  period  of  life 
we  are  more  prone  to  dwell  on  the  retrospective. 

As  a  Society  we  have  passed  the  season  of  youth,  and 
have  accomplished  half  of  the  journey  of  a  centennial 
existence.  We  have  arrived  at  a  stage  of  life  and  at  a 
position  where  it  may  be  proper  for  us  to  look  in  both 
directions — backwards  and  forwards. 

It  is  enough  to  show  that  the  whole  face  of  the  civil- 
ized physical  world  is  stamped  with  progress;  and  that 
her  motto  is  "Onward." 

And  has  there  been  no  corresponding  advancement  in 
the  art  and  science  of  medicine  during  the  last  fifty 
years?  To  aid  in  the  solution  of  this  question,  let  us 
refer  to  the  origin  and  progress  of  our  Society;  to  the 
power  it  has  exerted  in  extending  new  discoveries;  and 
to  the  social  and  happy  influence  its  annual  gatherings 
disseminate  among  its  members. 

To  say  that  medical  knowledge  has  increased  in  the 
same  proportion  as  that  of  other  arts  and  sciences 
would  not  be  sufficient.  We  should  most  likely  be  called 
on  to  particularize;  and  to  show  wherein  the  greatest 
achievements  have  been  accomplished  during  the  past 
half  a  century. 

In  pursuing  our  enquiry  we  shall,  from  necessity — for 
want  of  time  and  the  necessary  ability  to  do  the  subject 
justice,  pass  by  the  consideration  of  the  accessory  or 
collateral  branches,  and  proceed  to  refer  at  once  to  the 
practical,  the  demonstrative  part  of  our  subject. 

It  is  only  within  the  last  half  century  that  pathologi- 
cal anatomy  has  attained  to  anything  like  a  high  posi- 
tion in  the  education  of  a  good  physician  or  surgeon. 
For  a  long  time  the  discoveries  in  pathological  anatomy 
were  unfolded  only  by  use  of  the  scalpel.  Quite  recently 
the  solids  and  fluids  of  the  body,  both  in  health  and  dis- 
ease, have  been  examined  with  the  aid  of  the  micro- 
scope in  a  way  that  has  thrown  new  light  on  a  great 
many  points  heretofore  shrouded  in  darkness.  Patho- 
logical chemistry,  or  that  science  by  which  the  changes 
of  the  elementaiy  principles,  or  constituents  of  the  or- 
ganism may  be  detected,  should  be  more  thoroughly 
cultivated  by  medical  chemists. 

The  secretions  of  the  kidneys  and  urinary  calculi  may 
be  analyzed  by  a  chemical  process  with  so  much  ac- 
curacy as  to  decide  the  proportions  of  alkalies,  of  acids, 

i88 


of  earths  and  of  the  animal  matter  each  specimen  may 
contain;  as  the  somewhat  recent  investigations  of  Dr. 
Bright  will  show. 

Prof.  Simpson  says,  "If  we  knew  the  pathological 
chemistry  of  the  blood  and  fluids,  as  well  as  we  do  the 
pathological  anatomy  of  the  solids  of  the  body — a 
knowledge,  I  repeat,  that  is  to  be  longed  for,  but 
which  has  been  only  yet  most  slightly  acquired — then 
in  medicine,  both  as  a  science  and  an  art,  would  prob- 
ably make  a  forward  march  of  the  greatest  moment." 

If  the  fluids  which  enter  into  the  formation  of  anirnal 
existence  are  in  the  proportion  of  ten  to  one  of  the  solid- 
ity, as  it  is  alleged  by  physiologists,  is  it  not  reasonable 
that  we  should  look  for  still  further  developments  of 
the  nature  of  disease  by  a  thorough  chemical  analysis 
of  the  fluids?  It  has  been  suggested  whether  some 
peculiar  form  of  toxemia  or  blood  poisoning  may  not 
produce  specific  inflammations  of  the  skin,  as  smallpox, 
scarletina,  measles,  erysipelas,  phlebitis  and  inflamma- 
tion of  puerperal  fever.  If  we  compare  the  extent  and 
the  variety  of  use  of  the  means  of  physical  diagnosis  of 
the  present  day  with  those  of  half  a  century  ago,  we 
shall  find  that  great  advances  have  been  made  in  this 
important  branch  of  our  science.  Of  late  years  the 
special  senses  have  been  educated  and  trained  to  detect 
the  most  minute  distinctions  in  color,  in  form  and  in 
density,  of  morbid  structures.  By  the  eye,  the  ear  and 
the  fingers,  often  the  signs  of  diseased  parts  may  be  as 
clearly  indicated  as  by  the  scalpel  of  the  dissector  after 
death. 

Fifty  years  ago,  who  ever  heard  of  the  physician  or 
surgeon  making  use  of  the  stethoscope,  or  of  his  apply- 
ing his  ear  to  the  chest  of  his  patient  to  ascertain  the 
physical  condition  of  his  lungs,  or  the  heart's  action? 
The  terms  "ausculation"  and  "percussion,"  as  applied 
to  physical   diagnosis,   were   altogether  unknown. 

Similar  means  have  been  employed  to  detect  the  ex- 
istence of  diseases  in  other  cavities  and  organs.  If 
precision  and  accuracy  in  detecting  the  physical  signs  of 
disease  stamp  the  present  as  a  new  era  in  physical  diag- 
nosis, our  means  of  successfully  treating  diseases  have 
been  enlarged  and  improved  in  a  corresponding  degree. 

The  exploring  needle,  which  is  a  modern  invention, 
is  used  by  the  surgeon  to  ascertain  the  character  of  the 
structure  of  a  tumor,  or  the  contents  of  a  cyst  or  sac. 
Quite  recently  there  has  been  invented  the  instrument 
called  Ophthalmoscope,  by  which  the  diseases  of  the  deep 
tissues  of  the  eye  may  be  examined  with  ease  and  ac- 
curacy. In  June  last  I  found  this  instrument  extensively 
used  by  the  ophthalmic  surgeons  of  Vienna  and  Berlin ; 
and  at  that  time  I  thought  it  was  hardly  known  to  the 
profession  in  America.     But  in  the  Bostoyi  Medical  and 

189 


Surgical  Journal,  of  the  28th  of  June,  I  found  the  in- 
strument described  and  its  use  explained  by  our  country- 
man, John  H.  Dix,  M.D.,  of  Boston.  This  will  not 
only  serve  to  show  that  we  are  constantly  making  new 
discoveries  and  improvements  in  our  profession,  but 
also  the  rapidity  with  which  they  are  hurried  across 
the  Atlantic  or  pass  from  continent  to  continent. 

In  the  domains  of  materia  medica  some  most  re- 
markable advances  have  been  made  within  the  last  few 
years.  New  medical  agents  have  been  added  to  our  list 
of  remedies :  such  as  iodine,  with  its  various  compounds 
— hydrocyanic  acid,  gallic  acid,  cod  liver  oil,  etc. — whilst 
by  a  chemical  process  many  of  the  old  vegetable  and 
bulky  articles  that  were  in  use  have  been  converted  into 
alkaloids  or  the  alkalies  extracted  from  them  in  which 
all  their  medical  potency  resides. 

Obstetrics  and  the  diseases  peculiar  to  females  are 
now  far  better  understood  and  managed  than  formerly. 
Although  surgery  at  the  commencement  of  the  past  cen- 
tury was  in  advance  of  some  other  departments  of 
medicine,  yet  we  observe  a  marked  change  within  the 
last  twenty-five  or   thirty  years. 

To  point  out  the  contrast  between  the  present  and 
former  practice  of  surgery,  we  need  not  go  back  to  the 
days  of  barber  practice,  as  was  exhibited  in  the  operative 
art  of  our  profession.  Now  medical  surgery  is  studied 
as  a  science,  and  with  the  unbounded  resources  of  an 
enlarged  and  improved  materia  medica,  diseases  and 
lesions  that  were  once  deemed  incurable,  are  now  medi- 
cated successfully.  In  the  treatment  of  wounds,  hemor- 
rhage, inflammation  and  ulcers,  there  is  great  improve- 
ment. 

It  is  but  a  few  years  since  the  subject  of  tenotomy  was 
introduced  as  a  means  of  correcting  deformity.  Twenty 
years  ago  club  feet  and  crooked  eyes  were  to  be  met 
with  at  almost  any  turn  in  our  streets.  Now,  especially 
in  young  persons,  scarcely  any  such  deformity  is  to  be 
seen.  The  success  of  the  operation  for  dividing  tendons 
and  muscles,  and  subsequent  mechanical  treatment  to 
correct  deformities  and  malpositions  of  the  extremities, 
may  be  calculated  on  with  great  certainty,  among  in- 
fants and  young  children.  The  great  variety  of  plastic 
operations  for  removing  other  kinds  of  deformities  are 
of  modem  invention  and  work  wonders  when  nicely 
executed.  Less  than  fifty  years  since,  in  almost  all 
cases  of  compound  dislocation  of  a  large  joint,  the 
practice  was  to  resort  to  amputation.  Now  but  few  pri- 
mary amputations  take  place  in  compound  dislocations. 
Before  the  day  of  Sir  Benj.  Brodie  and  the  improved 
treatment  of  diseases  of  the  joints  for  saving  the  life  of 
the  patient  under  such  grave  affections,  amputation  was 
deemed  indispensable.     Now  we  remove  decayed  bone, 

190 


excise  joints  and  save  limbs  of  far  more  utility  and 
comfort  than  the  best  Palmer's  artificial  leg  ever  manu- 
factured. 

By  a  limited  explanation  of  the  subject,  we  shall  see 
that  practical  medicine,  within  the  last  fifty  or  sixty 
years,  has  advanced  in  the  same  proportion  as  surgery. 
This  has  been  chiefly  brought  about  by  a  more  accurate 
knowledge  of  pathology,  of  diagnosis  and  of  the  nature 
and  powers  of  many  new  remedies.  The  resources  of 
nature  have  been  more  thoroughly  studied,  and  the  ob- 
servant physician  knows  better  when  to  proffer  his  ser- 
vices to  aid  nature,  and  when  to  withhold  the  interfer- 
ence of  art. 

The  improvements  in  the  healing  art  that  may  be 
regarded  of  recent  date  are  not  to  be  considered  as 
solely  dependent  on  a  more  accurate  pathological  knowl- 
edge, and  a  more  extended  acquaintance  with  materia 
medica ;  but  we  now  entertain  more  correct  views  of 
prophylactic  and  hygienic  measures.  Air  and  exercise, 
food  and  raiment,  pure  water  and  cleanliness,  are  as 
important  to  health  and  contribute  as  much  to  the  lon- 
gevity of  our  species,  as  the  best  medicines  when  judi- 
ciously employed.  The  following  statement  will  serve 
to  illustrate  these  facts : 

"Formerly,  towards  the  middle  of  the  last  century, 
fifty  or  sixty  out  of  every  hundred  children  born 
in  London,  died  before  they  had  reached  their  fifth 
year  of  age;  but  the  mortality  has  gradually  and  stead- 
ily diminished,  so  that  now  not  above  thirty-five  in  every 
hundred  die  at  that  early  period." 

At  the  present  time  there  are  more  than  600,000  chil- 
dren born  annually  in  Great  Britain.  According  to  the 
above  scale  of  mortality,  more  than  300,000  of  these 
would  have  perished  formerly  before  they  were  five 
years  of  age;  now  only  about  200,000  die  during  the 
first  five  years  of  life,  thus  showing  a  saving  of  human 
life  in  this  item  alone  in  the  population  of  the  British 
Isles,  to  the  extent  of  100,000  a  year. 

By  reference  to  the  tables  of  Vital  Statistics  we  far- 
ther learn  that  "in  the  latter  part  of  the  i6th  century 
one-half  of  all  who  were  born  died  under  five  years 
of  age ;  the  average  longevity  of  the  whole  population 
was  but  eighteen  years.  In  the  seventeenth  century  one- 
half  of  the  population  died  under  12  years  of  age.  But 
in  the  first  60  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  one-half 
of  the  population  lived  over  27  years.  In  the  latter  40 
years  one-half  exceeded  34  years  of  age.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century  one-half  exceeded  40 
years  of  age,  and  from  1838  to  1845  one-half  exceeded 
43  years.  The  average  longevity  of  these  successive 
periods  has  been  increased  from  18  years  in  the  six- 
teenth century  up  to  43  7-10  by  the  last  reports." 

191 


There  are  certain  classes  of  moral  as  well  as  physical 
defects  and  derangements  that  have  of  late  years,  and 
I  am  quite  certain  within  the  last  half  century,  at  least, 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  humane  physician.  And 
I  think  we  may  say  with  confidence  and  pride  that  no 
class  of  men,  professional  or  otherwise,  have  done  more 
to  ameliorate  the  moral  and  physical  condition  of  the 
unfortunate,  the  poor  and  the  degraded  and  to  aid  the 
cause  of  religion  than  our  profession. 

Fifty  years  ago,  where  were  our  medical  and  surgical 
hospitals,  our  houses  of  correction  for  juvenile  delin- 
quents, our  insane  hospitals,  our  asylums  for  the  deaf 
and  dumb,  our  retreat  for  the  idiot,  and,  as  is  now  con- 
templated, a  refuge  for  the  poor,  besotted  inebriate? 
My  sensitive  and  sympathizing  audience  hardly  needs  to 
be  excited  with  the  recital  of  the  dark  picture  of  the 
condition  of  the  unfortunate  and  unhappy  maniac  pre- 
vious to  the  commencement  of  the  present  century. 
Then  his  habitation  was  either  a  dark,  narrow  cell,  or 
a  cage;  he  was  secured  by  a  straight- jacket  or  mana- 
cled and  chained  with  as  much  unfeeling  severity  as  a 
galley  slave ;  his  treatment  was  starvation  and  filth, 
stripes  and  bruises,  scorn  and  hatred.  Now  the  body 
and  mind  are  cared  for  and  scientifically  treated.  All 
these  benevolent  and  praiseworthy  institutions  are  under 
the  superintendence  of  kind-hearted  physicians. 

Let  us  next  devote  a  few  minutes  to  the  consideration 
of  the  agencies  that  have  been  employed  during  the 
last  half  century  in  enlarging  the  field  of  medical  knowl- 
edge. 

At  the  present  time  colleges  and  schools  devoted  to 
medical  instruction,  and  hospitals  managed  by  physi- 
cians and  surgeons,  afford  the  chief  means  of  educating 
young  men  in  the  practice  of  physic  and  surgery. 

In  1807  there  were  not  half  a  dozen  medical  schools 
in  the  United  States ;  nor  scarcely  a  greater  number  of 
hospitals.  Now  there  are  about  forty  medical  colleges 
or  associations  where  medicine  and  surgery  are  taught, 
and  it  is  probable  that  there  are  twice  that  number  of 
hospitals  scattered  through  the  cities  and  towns  of  the 
United  States. 

The  names  and  dates  of  the  organization  of  the  five 
oldest  medical  institutions  in  this  country  are  the  fol- 
lowing: The  Medical  Department  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  was  established  in  1765.  The  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  the  City  of  New  York  was 
instituted  in  1768,  in  connection  with  Columbia  College, 
and  in  1807  obtained  an  independent  charter.  The  Med- 
ical School  of  Boston,  Mass.,  now  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  Harvard  University,  was  organized  in  1782. 
The  Medical  Department  of  Dartmouth  College  in  1798; 
and  the  University  of  Maryland,  Baltimore,  in  1807. 

192 


more  numerous;  whe,^  th,  whl^"  """'"■^  •>«  a  Me 
and  chemical  tests  of  the  !l,  •'^,  ^PParatus,  chemicalf 
almost  packed  in  a  br^sLf  T'M''">"'°"  "^S  be 
seum  of  ,he  college  consi  fe^    ,"  ""=  anatomical  mu- 

iectM™=-  "  ''^"'ifSof  dis/otte°d  bo"  "'  *^«  ^^^ky 
jected  preparations-   anrf   ,;,t  ""'='=  and  a  few  in- 

g"«t"°tr  ^h°"?  '"'  'he  coll":'  P«holoeica,  calitS^t 
Keef tfe\S  aXiT?;T£"''5--"Se  SntS 

otatnmg  a  Aoroug^hTra«icat"med"4i'°f  °l  '«=".'<>' 

™e   are   now   preuarerf    t         ,''""^^'  education, 
agency  do  medical  sMTeties"'".^. 'he  question:   What 
proving  medical  science/   If  ,f  '"  advancing  and  im 

;?',S''«  "''"  been'made'fo  "read"  •T^'T''" '"^"- 

°f  Physic'  a„°/s*y,y-'T  "'  Watinl",!^  p'^ife 
conformity  to  the  fpirit  a^H  ""''^■''ave  been  more  fa 
Society  as  it  is  now^o^antd'""^'"^'  ""^"^  "f  °u? 

f.^inburS"o1'X  I'der^'ar-^^'™'-^'-    Society    of 
eS°h"  r'''  "I  We've",fc™"'  of  Phys?"  Vf' 

r^'f"L,Sfci°?'t"e  I'tl"  '°'*e™  fZt'^'h- 

9sSo-igS£'^ 
^aS?';u;r\-rtF'"  *"siTiepa£r^^ 

both,  to  s^d|',i"'h«  practical   to  gatlierS Lm"     1° 

teers  nn^r  ?^-  ^^"^otest  bounds  of  thJ        ^"  Quarters 
icers  poured  in   to  ioin  tu;  ^"^  country  volim 


13 

193 


to  its  very  depth.  Hundreds  upon  hundreds  came  forth 
from  their  sheltering  privacy  and  threw  their  souls  into 
the  grand  movement  which  was  to  conquer,  to  purify 
and  regenerate  the  prostrated  glory  of  their  calling. 
The  feeble  voice  of  opposition  was  heard  for  a  mo- 
ment, but  it  was  soon  drowned  in  the  overwhelming 
shouts  of  the  masses  crying,  'Onward  !     Onward  !'  " 

Those  who  felt  but  little  confidence  in  the  anticipated 
good  that  was  to  arise  from  the  organization  of  the 
American  Medical  Association,  either  to  the  public  or 
to  the  profession,  must  acknowledge  that  a  new  impulse 
has  been  given  to  the  science  of  medicine  in  this  coun- 
try since  it  was  founded.  And  the  glory  of  starting  the 
ball  is  due  to  the  State  of  New  York — to  this  Society; 
and  almost  entirely  to  the  untired  exertions  of  Prof. 
N.  S.  Davis,  now  of  Chicago,  in  the  call  of  a  conven- 
tion, suggested  by  the  writer,  out  of  which  the  Asso- 
ciation grew.  It  appears  on  record  that  Dr.  Hays,  of 
Philadelphia,  first  suggested  the  idea  of  instituting  a 
"National  Medical  Association" ;  and  that  the  honor  of 
submitting  the  plan  for  the  permanent  organization  of 
the  American  Medical  Association  is  due  to  John  Wat- 
son, M.D..  of  New  York,  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
of  Organization. 

Well  may  we  be  proud  not  only  of  our  own  Society 
and  its  achievements  in  literature  and  science,  but  also 
of  the  agency  it  has  had  in  promoting  the  national 
prosperity  of  our  noble  profession.  Let  us,  then,  con- 
tinue to  act  honestly  and  faithfully  in  the  discharge  of 
our  professional  duties  to  each  other,  and  to  the  pub- 
lic, even  if  our  motives  should  be  impugned  or  fail  to 
be  properly  appreciated.  We  may  meet  with  discour- 
agement, neglect  and  insult,  but  let  us  not  weary  in 
well  doing. 

The  storms  and  tempests  of  quackery  may  assault  the 
citadel  of  the  science  of  medicine  and  surgerJ^  The 
good,  old  and  well-tried  "Regular,"  commanded 
by  officers  and  recruits  of  the  orthodox  profession  of 
medicine,  may  be  tossed  and  veered  about  by  the  popu- 
lar "isms"  of  the  day — nay,  she  may  occasionally  lose 
a  spar,  or  receive  a  breach  of  continuity  in  some  of  her 
light  cordage,  yet  her  mainmast  stands  erect  without 
fracture  of  her  beams,  without  dislocation  of  her  helm, 
and  with  a  hull  as  sound  and  as  safe  as  on  the  day  she 
was  launched.  She  still  floats  on  the  sea  of  "Confi- 
dence," and  even  though  she  may  now  and  then  be 
threatened  with  a  mutiny  among  some  of  her  undisci- 
plined recruits,  yet  we  find  the  captain  in  command,  the 
pilot  at  his  post,  the  helmsman  on  duty  and  the  watch- 
man at  mast-head,  warning  us  of  approaching  danger. 

Rapid  and  imperfect  as  has  been  our  sketch  of  the 
past,  may  we  not  see  enough  in  it  to  fill  us  with  high 

194 


and  encouraging  hopes  for  the  future?  As  we  look 
forward  through  the  vista  of  another  half  century,  may 
we  not  confidently  hope  that  our  successors  will  be  able 
in  their  turn  to  leave  upon  record  an  account  of  far 
greater  and  more  numerous  achievements  in  the  arts 
and  sciences  and  advancements  of  our  profession  than 
has  been  our  privilege  to  record. 

Our  social  relations  and  the  kindly  feelings  our  an- 
nual reunions  are  calculated  to  promote,  are  well  fitted 
to  exert  a  happy  influence  on  our  hearts  and  to  inspire 
confidence  in  and  respect  for  each  other. 

Let  these  sentiments  be  cherished,  and  whether  it 
shall  be  our  lot  again  to  meet  here,  or  hereafter,  may 
it  be  one  of  severe  and  unalloyed  enjoyment. 


A  COUNTRY  DOCTOR  OF  THE  FIRST  HALF 
CENTURY. 

For  many  years  the  oldest  member  of  the  New 
York  State  Medical  Society  was  the  Hon.  John 
Miller,  M.  D.,  of  Truxton,  Cortland  County,  N. 
Y.,  who  died  on  the  30th  of  March,  1862,  in  the 
88th  year  of  his  age.  Dr.  Miller  seems  to  de- 
serve a  special  biography  for  many  more  reasons 
than  the  happy  accident  that  for  over  ten  years 
he  was  the  dean  of  the  society.  His  life  is  in 
many  ways  thoroughly  representative  of  that  of 
the  practitioners  in  country  places,  in  New  York 
State,  in  the  first  half  of  the  19th  century.  His 
wonderful  powers  of  endurance  that  enabled  him 
to  stand  more  fatigue  than  the  horses  that  he 
road  to  his  distant  patients,  so  that  during  times 
of  epidemic  at  least  he  kept  relays  of  animals 
along  roads  that  he  was  likely  to  travel,  only 
gives  some  idea  of  the  wonderfully  strenuous 
life  that  he  led.  There  is  in  addition  to  this  a 
tinge  of  romance  about  his  earlier  years,  that  his 
biographer,  Dr.  George  W.  Bradford,  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Cortland  County  Medical  Society, 
has  brought  out  very  effectively.  Besides  the 
tender  regard  in  which  he  was  held  by  many 
friends  during  his  life  and  his  sympathy  for 
animals,  especially  his  favorite  faithful  horse, 
stamped    him    as    a    man    of   eminently  humane 

195 


nature,  a  true  devotee  of  what  are  so  well  called 
the  humanities  in  the  midst  of  all  his  strenuosity. 

Those  who  might  doubt  that  such  country 
doctors  as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Watson  has  painted  so 
delightfully  for  us  in  his  portrait  of  Weelum 
MacLure,  the  Scotch  country  doctor,  in  "Beside 
the  Bonnie  Briar  Bush,"  developed  also 
in  this  country,  will  find  ample  proof  in 
this  sketch  of  Dr.  Miller's  life.  Besides  being 
a  busy  practitioner  of  medicine,  however.  Dr. 
Miller  took  his  full  share  of  duties  as  a  citizen, 
even  serving  as  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  nearly 
ten  years.  He  was  a  county  judge  for  three 
years,  w^as  elected  to  the  Assembly  for  several 
terms,  and  represented  his  district  in  Congress 
for  one  term.  His  life  is  typical  in  many  ways 
of  the  busy,  almost  over  full  careers  of  his  con- 
temporaries, who  did  so  much  for  themselves, 
for  their  fellowmen  and  for  their  fellow-practi- 
tioners. He  was  one  of  those  present  at  the 
celebration  of  the  semi-centennial  by  special  in- 
vitation. 

The  following  is  from  the  Transactions  of 
the  State  Society  of  1862. 


MEMOIR  OF  HON.  JOHN  MILLER,  M.D.,  LATE  OF  TRUX- 
TON,  CORTLAND  COUNTY,  N.  Y.     BY  GEO.  W.  BRAD- 
FORD, M.D.,  SECRETARY  OF  CORTLAND  COUNTY 
MEDICAL  SOCIETY. 

"It  is  a  remark  as  true  as  it  is  old,  that  the  life  and 
labors  of  the  most  eminent  physicians  are  known  and 
appreciated  by  a  very  limited  number  of  their  contem- 
poraries. Their  abstracted  and  almost  isolated  position 
in  society  arises  from  the  very  nature  of  their  avoca- 
tion." His  daily  routine  of  attendance  on  the  sick,  in 
relieving  the  pains  and  ministering  relief  for  the  ills 
flesh  is  heir  to,  forbid  his  striving  for  wealth  and  power 
in  the  very  marts  of  commerce,  or  in  other  scenes  where 
these  are  acquired  almost  in  a  day.  Even  in  the  toils 
and  sacrifices  of  war,  his  arena  is  in  the  chamber  of  suf- 
fering and  death,  while  all  the  glory  that  gilds  the  bat- 
tle-field is  lavished  freely  upon  others.  True  as  the 
above  remarks  are  in  relation  to  a  very  large  portion 


196 


of  the  medical  profession,  yet  instances  do  occur  in 
which  by  a  combination  of  strong  natural  abilities,  and 
physical  endurance,  indomitable  perseverance  and  moral 
courage,  so  overcome  all  obstacles  that  the  possessor  at- 
tains to  an  eminence  of  position,  professionally  and  pub- 
licly, that  is  wide  and  permanent. 

Such,  if  we  mistake  not,  is  the  one  whose  name  stands 
at  the  head  of  our  sketch,  and  whose  useful  life  vve 
would  attempt  to  delineate.  John  Miller  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Armenia,  County  of  Dutchess,  N.  Y.,  on  the 
tenth  day  of  November,  1774.  His  advantages  for  early 
education  were  very  limited,  he  having  attended  the_  dis- 
trict school  about  one  year  and  enjoyed  the  privilege 
of  attending  a  classical  school  in  Connecticut  about  the 
same  length  of  time,  his  boyhood  being  spent  in  labor- 
ing on  the  farm.  He  commenced  the  study  of  his  pro- 
fession with  Dr.  Miller,  an  uncle  of  his,  in  Dutchess 
County,  in  the  year  1793.  At  the  expiration  of  a  little 
more  than  a  year  he  went  to  Washington  County,  N.  Y., 
and  entered  the  office  of  Dr.  Moshier,  of  Easton,  in 
that  county.  While  residing  with  Dr  Moshier,  young 
Miller  received  a  severe  injury  by  being  thrown  from  a 
horse.  From  this  injury  he  was  unable  to  pursue  his 
professional  studies  for  more  than  two  years.  During 
this  period  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Dutchess  County. 
After  several  months  residence  at  home  he  was  induced 
by  the  advice  of  Dr.  Baird,  of  New  York,  to  seek  an 
appointment  in  the  then  small  Navy  of  the_  United 
States.  For  this  purpose,  though  much  against  the 
wishes  of  his  family,  he  went  to  New  York,  where  he 
was  presented,  by  Dr.  Baird  and  others,  with  letters  of 
recommendation  to  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  of  Philadel- 
phia, whither  he  repaired,  and  presented  Dr.  Rush  with 
his  credentials.  At  that  time  Miller  was  in  poor  health, 
and  being  tall,  more  than  six  feet  in  height,  and  thin  in 
body.  Dr.  Rush  was  somewhat  amused  that  so  ghostly 
looking  a  young  man  should  think  of  going  into  the 
Navy,  and  said  to  him:  "Young  man,  you  look  better 
fitted  for  a  skeleton  in  my  office  than  for  a  post  in  the 
Navy."  After  recovering  from  the  fatigue  of  his  jour- 
ney, Dr.  Rush  went  with  him  to  visit  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  the  venerable  John  Adams,  residing 
in  Philadelphia,  then  the  seat  of  the  general  government, 
and  through  the  influence  of  Dr.  Rush  obtained  the 
place  he  sought,  and  was  directed  to  report  himself  to 
the  surgeon  of  the  United  States  brig  New  York,  then 
soon  to  sail  for  Tripoli.  At  this  interview  with  Presi- 
dent Adams,  Dr.  Rush  and  young  Miller  were  invited 
to  dine  with  the  President,  and  did  so,  where  he  met 
General  Washington,  Fisher  Ames  and  several  other 
distinguished  characters  of  that  day.  Upon  further  ac- 
quaintance, Dr.  Rush  advised  Miller  to  resign  his  post 

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in  the  Navy  and  proffered  him  a  position  in  his  family 
and  office  as  a  private  pupil.  This  offer  he  readily  em- 
braced, and  remained  for  nearly  two  years,  accompany- 
ing the  doctor  on  his  rides  into  the  country,  and  attend- 
ing the  lectures  of  Dr.  Rush  and  Dr.  Shippen  at  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  From  Pennsylvania  he  re- 
turned to  Washington  County,  N.  Y.,  in  1798,  and  en- 
tered into  co-partnership  with  Dr.  Moshier,  his  former 
instructor,  where  he  remained  until  1801.  He  was  li- 
censed to  practice  medicine  by  the  Vermont  Medical 
Society  in  1800.  The  law  regulating  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  New  York  was  not  enacted  until  1806.  On 
leaving  Washington  County,  in  1801,  he  came  into  the 
then  town  of  Fabius,  Onondaga  County,  now  Truxton, 
Cortland  County,  N.  Y.,  and  established  himself  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  where  he  almost  unremit- 
tingly attended  his  duties  for  about  twenty-five  years, 
and  occasionally  some  five  years  longer.  From  his  early 
physical  training  on  the  farm,  he  was  well  prepared  for 
the  laborious  duties  of  his  profession  in  a  new  country. 
Few  men  possessed  to  an  equal  degree  the  capacity  for 
physical  endurance  and  unwearied  perseverance.  The 
country  being  new,  the  roads  always  poor,  many  times 
almost  impassable,  yet  he  performed  an  amount  of  labor 
almost  incredible,  frequently  riding  on  horseback  thirty, 
forty  and  more  than  fifty  miles  a  day,  at  all  times,  by 
night  or  by  day,  through  storms  and  sunshine,  with  an 
energy  that  no  obstacle  could  prevent.  IMany  are  the 
anecdotes  that  are  related  of  his  adventures  in  the 
woods  and  by-paths  of  Truxton,  frequently  by  torch- 
light, to  attend  upon  some  family  who,  perhaps,  were 
unable  to  render  him  any  remuneration. 

The  poor  as  well  as  the  rich  were  alike  the  recipients 
of  his  toils.  As  a  practitioner,  Dr.  Miller  possessed  to 
an  eminent  degree  the  confidence  of  his  employers.  His 
strong  mind  and  retentive  memory  enabled  him  to  read- 
ily discriminate  the  phases  of  diseases  and  his  prompti- 
tude and  readiness  in  the  administration  of  relief  to  the 
sufferer,  at  once  secured  the  confidence  of  the  sick.  His 
strict  attendance  to  those  entrusted  to  his  care,  his 
kindness  of  heart  led  him  to  sympathize  deeply  in  all 
their  sufferings,  these  all  convinced  his  employers  that 
his  whole  energies  were  enlisted  in  their  welfare.  He 
loved  his  profession,  and  while  attending  to  its  duties, 
amidst  all  of  his  incessant  labors,  he  found  time  to  cul- 
tivate his  mind  by  reading  much  of  the  current  pro- 
fessional literature  of  the  day,  and  his  well-balanced 
ming  and  retentive  memory  enabled  him  to  make  the 
best  use  of  what  he  read.  He  was  elected  an  honorary 
member  of  the  New  York  State  Medical  Society  in 
1808,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  the  oldest  living 
member  of  the  Society  by  nine  years.     At  the  semi-cen- 


tennial  anniversary  meeting  of  the  Society  in  February, 
1857,  Dr.  Miller  was  present  by  special  invitation.  He 
entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  meeting  with  all  the  ar- 
dency of  his  nature,  and  many  of  the  members  present, 
who  for  the  first  time  there  saw  him,  will  long  remem- 
ber the  "old  man  eloquent,"  and  their  pleasant  and  pro- 
fitable acquaintance  with  their  venerable  fellow-member. 
He  was  the  last  of  that  band  of  physicians,  who,  in  Aug- 
ust, 1808,  organized  the  Cortland  County  Medical  So- 
ciety, and  its  first  vice-president  and  the  oldest  living 
member  by  ten  years.  Such  was  his  character  and 
standing  in  the  profession  and  gentlemanly  intercourse 
with  all  members  of  the  society  that  all  loved  to  meet 
him.  and  to  confer  honor  and  their  kindest  favors  upon 
one   so  much   esteemed  and  highly  venerated. 

Having  spent  the  first  years  of  his  life  in  laboring  on 
the  farm.  Dr.  Miller  while  yet  in  the  vigor  of  his  days, 
left  his  profession  and  turned  his  attention  to  agricul- 
ture. Notwithstanding  he  had  relinquished  the  practi- 
cal duties  of  his  profession,  he  still  manifested  an  inter- 
est in  its  welfare,  always  greeting  its  members  with 
warm  cordiality  and  to  the  day  of  his  death  no  one 
abhorred  and  detested  the  varied  systems  of  quackery, 
with  which  our  country  abounds,  more  than  he  did. 
The  intelligence  and  the  energy  with  which  Dr.  Miller 
entered  into  all  the  affairs  of  State,  as  well  as  into 
his  professional  avocations,  was  such  that  he  early  be- 
came prominent  in  public  life.  His  first  public  office 
was  that  of  coroner,  which  appointment  he  received 
from  Governor  George  Clinton,  in  1802.  He  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  in  the  town  of  his  residence  in  1805 
and  retained  the  office  for  twenty  years.  He  was  ap- 
pointed a  justice  of  the  peace  in  1812  and  discharged 
its  duties  until  1821.  He  was  one  of  the  judges  of  our 
county  courts  from  1817  to  1820.  He  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Assembly  from  this  county  in  1816,  again 
re-elected  in  1820  and  again  in  1846.  This  same  year 
he  represented  the  county  in  the  Convention  for  revis- 
ing the  Constitution  of  the  State.  In  1826  and  1827  he 
represented  the  22d  district  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  In  all  these  positions  of  public  trust 
he  evinced  the  same  energy  and  determined  will  and 
prompt  action  he  had  shown  in  his  professional  career. 
His  readiness  to  sacrifice  personal  interest  and  ease  to 
the  public  good  and  his  experience  in  public  life,  with 
the  honesty  of  purpose  manifested  in  his  intercourse 
with  his  associates,  enabled  him  to  exert  a  commanding 
influence  over  any  deliberative  body.  These,  with  his 
usual  energy,  his  eminent  social  vivacity,  rendered  him 
a  welcome  guest  in  all  social  gatherings.  "He  loved 
his  friends,  his  profession  and  his  country,  and  ardently 
labored  for  the  improvement  of  each.    He  was  free  and 

199 


frank  in  manner,  generous  and  friendly  in  disposition, 
engaging  in  address,  of  active  temperament  and  indeed 
possessed  all  the  social  qualities  of  a  gentleman  and 
the  stirring  energies  of  the  man  of  business. 

He  was  tall  and  erect  in  stature,  and  even  in  his  last 
years  still  retained  his  firm  step  and  erect  position  and 
never  exhibited  the  decrepit  old  man  in  appearance,  or 
in  loss  of  intellect,  but  entered  into  conversation  with 
all  the  energy  and  fire  of  his  youthful  days. 

He  left  the  impress  of  his  character  on  all  he  said  or 
touched.  He  was  zealous  in  all  he  believed  to  be  right, 
yet  kind  and  gentlemanly  to  all  who  differed  from  him 
in  views.  He  was  no  bigot.  Always  expressed  his 
opinion  of  men  and  measures  freely  and  fearlessly  and 
was  always  ready  to  listen  to  those  who  believed  differ- 
ently. We  have  alluded  to  Dr.  Miller's  indomitable 
energy  and  restless  perseverance  in  anything  he  felt 
his  duty  to  perform  or  which  he  was  anxious  to  accom- 
plish. What  he  had  to  do  he  did  with  all  his  might.  No 
difficulties  or  opposition  dismayed  him,  but  seemed 
rather  to  infuse  in  him  a  more  determined  purpose  to 
overcome  all. 

We  cannot  but  relate  one  of  the  characteristic  events, 
of  his  life,  his  determined  will  to  overcome  seeming  im- 
possibilities, which  he  accomplished  in  securing  to  him- 
self the  lady  who  afterwards  became  the  sharer  of  his 
fortunes,  the  intelligent,  amiable,  loving  partner  of  his 
life. 

Before  coming  into  this  (Cortland)  County  in  1801, 
he  had  formed  an  attachment  to,  and  an  engagement 
with,  a  young  lady  living  in  Rensselaer  County,  N.  Y., 
whom  he  expected  to  become  his  partner  and  helpmeet 
in  and  through  the  journey  of  life.  After  his  settlement 
here  they  held  a  constant  correspondence,  and  while  the 
doctor  was  laboring  with  all  his  energies  to  prepare 
for  his  chosen  one  a  home,  she  remained  behind  making 
preparations  for  a  residence  in  the  wilds  of  the  West. 
Matters  went  smoothly  on  with  them  for  some  months, 
each  frequently  receiving  assurances  of  faithfulness  and 
mutual  attachment.  After  some  time  letters  were  not 
as  frequently  received  by  either  party  as  formerlj-,  and 
at  last  ceased  entirely.  The  doctor  wrote  often,  but  re- 
ceived no  reply  to  his  anxious  enquiries  for  the  cause  of 
this  total  silence  on  the  part  of  her  he  so  ardently  loved. 
Just  so  with  the  lady,  she,  too,  had  written  time  and 
again,  seeking  to  know  the  cause  of  his  seeming  cool- 
ness, this  abandonment  of  him  to  whom  she  had  plighted 
her  first  love.  Each  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
other  was  false  to  the  sacred  engagement  promise. 

Matters  remained  thus  for  some  time  witliout  either 
hearing  anything  from  the  other.  At  last  the  doctor  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  a  friend  of  his  living  in  Troy  (the 

200 


place  of  the  young  lady's  residence)  informing  him  that 
the  young  lady  in  question  was  to  be  married  to  some 
one  there,  on  such  an  evening,  but  a  few  days  from  that 
date.  The  friend,  knowing  something  of  the  previous 
engagement  of  the  doctor  to  the  lady,  learned  she  had 
been  induced  to  marry  the  person  of  her  second  en- 
gagement from  the  belief  that  the  doctor  had  cast  her 
off — had  forfeited  his  plighted  honor,  she  not  having 
heard  anything  from  him  in  reply  to  her  letters  for  many 
months.  The  friend  at  once  suspected  something  wrong. 
He  knew  John  Miller  would  never  be  guilty  of  so  base 
an  act  as  to  leave  one  to  whom  he  was  betrothed  in 
such  a  manner.  That  if  it  were  possible  for  him  to 
fulfil  his  engagement,  or  if  he  desired  to  cancel  the 
obligation.  Miller  would  at  once  frankly  and  honestly 
inform  the  young  lady.  That  he  was  far  too  honorable, 
too  noble  to  do  so  base  an  act.  Believing  this,  he  wrote 
the  doctor  of  the  intended  wedding  to  take  place  on  the 
day  designated.  At  that  early  day  our  couij.try  mails 
were  "like  angel  visits — few  and  far  between,"  conse- 
quently Miller  did  not  receive  his  friend's  letter  until 
less  than  twenty-four  hours  before  the  time  appointed 
for  the  wedding.  This  was  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
month  of  March,  when  the  snow  was  melting  away  by 
the  rays  of  the  warm  sun  of  spring,  the  roads  were  in 
bad  condition,  riding  exceedingly  bad  and  in  some  places 
dangerous,  and  the  doctor  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles 
from  Troy.  Stages  or  railroads  were  at  that  time  out 
of  the  question.  What  should  he  do?  Give  up  his 
heart's  desire,  his  long-wished-for  and  earnestly  sought 
companion;  her,  on  whom  his  most  ardent  love  had 
centered,  and  remain  during  all  his  future  life  under 
the  imputation  of  forfeiting  his  plighted  faith  and  act- 
ing in  a  dishonorable  manner  with  a  noble,  worthy  lady, 
or  should  he  make  one  effort  to  retrieve  all?  His  mind 
was  soon  made  up.  He  mounted  his  faithful  horse, 
"Gershom,"  one  he  had  often  tried  in  cases  of  urgent 
necessity;  one,  too,  in  all  respects  possessed  of  the  phy- 
sical endurance — the  determined  energy  never  to  be  out- 
done— equal  even  to  his  master.  "Gersh'om"  was 
headed  for  Troy,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
miles,  to  be  passed  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours,  not- 
withstanding all  the  snow,  mud  or  dangers  by  the  way. 
Faithfully  and  nobly  did  "Gershom"  perform  his  task. 
Near  the  close  of  the  day,  when  the  doctor  had  ar- 
rived near  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson  River,  he 
discovered  the  ferry-boat  just  leaving  the  shore  to  pass 
over  to  Troy.  It  was  almost  dark,  every  moment  of 
time  was  precious,  fearing  he  should  be  too  late  for  a 
successful  termination  of  his  hopes,  his  hard  day's  labor 
and  all  might  be  lost,  he  raised  his  voice  to  its  utmost 
pitch,  swinging  his  hat;  "Gershom"  at  once  responded, 

201 


made  his  last  charge  and  arrived  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  in  time  to  pass.  This  proved  to  be  the  last  time 
the  boat  went  over  that  night. 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  evening  "Gershom"  stood  at 
the  door  of  the  residence  of  the  young  lady,  just  as  the 
guests  were  assembled  to  witness  the  marriage  cere- 
mony. The  doctor,  covered  with  mud  and  wet,  riding- 
stick  in  hand,  walked  up  the  steps  of  the  mansion  and 
knocked  at  the  door.  The  father  of  the  young  lady 
answered  the  call,  and  who  should  he  see  standing 
there  but  John  Miller,  who,  without  ceremony,  makes 
the  enquiry,  "Is  Phoebe  at  home?"  "Yes,"  was  the 
reply.  "Can  I  see  her?"  asks  the  doctor.  The  father 
replies,  "I  will  inform  her  you  are  here — walk  in."  The 
doctor  went  into  the  hall  and  remained  standing  with 
his  hat  in  hand.  In  a  few  minutes  Phoebe  made  her  ap- 
pearance, an  interview  was  solicited  by  the  doctor,  ex- 
planations followed,  and  a  perfect  reconciliation  was  the 
result.  Their  letters  had  been  intercepted  on  both  sides 
by  the  man  who  had  almost  obtained  possession  of  the 
prize  by  his  rascality,  but  who  that  night  went  home 
wifeless. 

They  were  married  in  1805,  and  a  happy  union  it 
proved  to  be.  Mrs.  Miller  was  a  lady  of  rare  accom- 
plishments, of  ardent  piety  and  in  all  respects  a  fit  com- 
panion for  her  worthy  husband.  They  had  eight  chil- 
dren— five  sons  and  three  daughters.  Mrs.  Miller  died 
much  lamented  in  1834,  aged  59  years.  Of  the  family 
only  one  of  the  sons  and  two  daughters  survive.  All 
arriving  to  mature  age,  and  most  of  them  falling  a  vic- 
tim to  that  destroyer  of  our  race — consumption. 

In  the  temperance  cause  Dr.  Miller  took  an  early 
and  active  part.  During  his  days  of  pupilage  he 
once  saw  a  beautiful  child  sacrificed  in  consequence  of 
the  intoxication  of  the  physician  called  to  its  relief  in 
an  hour  of  suffering.  This  made  a  deep  and  lasting  im- 
pression on  his  mind,  and  led  him  at  the  commencement 
of  his  labors  as  practicing  physician  firmly  to  resolve  to 
abstain  entirely  from  all  intoxicating  drinks  as  a  bever- 
age. In  this  determination  he  persevered  to  the  end  of 
his  life.  In  his  prescriptions  for  the  indisposed  he 
avoided  in  all  practical  instances  ordering  alcoholic  or 
any  other  intoxicating  article.  No  one  can  ever  charge 
Dr.  Miller  with  being  the  means  of  their  becoming  lov- 
ers of  strong  drink.  He  was  long  an  officer  in  the  New 
York  State  Temperance  Society,  and  frequently  attended 
its  meetings  at  Albany,  and  by  his  wise  counsels  and 
sound  judgment  obtained  a  commanding  influence  in 
that  body. 

At  an  early  age  the  doctor  gave  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church  and  Society  of  Truxton  two  valuable  lots  of 
land  in  the  center  of  the  village,  as  sites  for  a  church 


and  parsonage,  also  one  other  lot  as  a  site  for  a  public 
schoolhouse;  and  in  the  expenses  incurred  in  erecting 
these  public  buildings,  the  doctor  was  a  liberal  con- 
tributor. It  was  entirely  through  his  influence  and  lib- 
erality that  the  church  edifice  was  finished  in  a  neat  and 
tasteful  manner.  His  seat  in  the  church  was  always  oc- 
cupied by  himself  or  his  family. 

In  the  support  of  the  varied  objects  of  benevolence  of 
the  age  and  in  the  institution  of  the  gospel  in  his  own 
vicinity,  Dr.  Miller  was  a  firm  friend  and  a  contributor. 
The  church  and  society  of  the  town  of  his  residence  are 
greatly  indebted  to  him  not  only  for  his  liberal  aid  in 
erecting  their  house  of  worship,  but  for  the  yearly  sup- 
port of  its  ministry. 

For  the  last  two  years  the  doctor's  health  had  been 
declining,  and  he  has  been  out  but  little,  yet  he  always 
most  cordially  received  visits  from  his  friends  and  en- 
tered with  all  his  usual  vivacity  into  conversation,  and 
where  any  subject  was  introduced  in  which  he  felt 
deeply  interested,  he  would  arouse  to  his  accustomed 
vigor  of  mind  and  pour  forth  the  feelings  of  his  heart 
with  great  rapidity  and  eloquence,  his  thoughts  fre- 
quently outrunning  his  utterance  which  sometimes  led 
him  to  hesitate,  but  all  who  heard  him  were  at  once  re- 
minded of  his  youthful  energy.  He  retained  his  wonted 
faculties  almost  to  the  last  hour  of  his  long  life,  was 
perfectly  sensible  to  the  steady  and  sure  approach  of 
death ;  yet  with  calmness  and  life-long  carefulness,  made 
every  preparation  for  the  end.  Having  made  every 
necessary  and  equitable  disposition  of  his  property,  he 
gave  explicit  directions  to  the  undertaker  about  his 
coifin  and  burial,  that  all  should  be  done  in  a  plain,  un- 
ostentatious manner,  avoiding  all  needless  expense. 
Thus  he  actively  and  usefully  lived,  thus  he  calmly  and 
quietly  died,  on  the  30th  day  of  March,  1862,  in  the  88th 
year  of  his  age,  leaving  behind  him  abundant  evidence 
of  his  preparation  for,  and  acceptance  through,  the  grace 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  into  the  rest  prepared  for  the 
just. 

His  funeral  was  attended  by  a  large  concourse  of  his 
neighbors  and  friends  from  distant  parts  of  the  country. 
Notwithstanding  his  request  that  he  should  be  buried 
quietly,  his  long  and  useful  life  had  secured  top  many 
friends  that  desired  to  manifest  their  love  for  his  char- 
acter, their  veneration  for  his  age,  and  their  sympathy 
for  his  family,  to  permit  him  to  be  interred  without 
mingling  their  tears  with  his  friends.  An  impressive 
funeral  sermon  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Caleb  Clark,  who 
for  more  than  forty  years  had  been  the  confidential 
friend  and  the  spiritual  adviser  of  himself  and  family. 

His  funeral  was  also  attended  by  a  large  number  of 

203 


the  members  of  the  Cortland  County  Medical  Society, 
who  to  the  last  manifested  their  love  and  veneration  to 
their  aged  fellow-member. 

CESSATION    OF    RELATIONS    WITH    THE 
AMERICAN  MEDICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

During  the  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  cele- 
bration of  the  semi-centennial  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  State  Medical  Society,  it  continued 
to  be  as  it  had  been  before  the  leading  State 
Medical  Society  of  the  country.  Its  efforts  to 
maintain  the  dignity  of  the  profession  and  to 
uplift  medical  education  and  medical  practice 
were  uniformly  successful,  and  were  accepted 
as  models  by  other  State  organizations  for  their 
work  along  similar  lines.  The  relations  of  this 
society  with  the  rest  of  the  medical  profession 
throughout  the  country  were  always  extremely 
cordial.  Almost  needless  to  say  New  York  had 
come  to  occupy  from  the  very  beginning  the 
most  prominent  place  in  the  councils  of  the 
American  Medical  Association.  This  was  only 
what  might  have  been  expected.  The  National 
Association  owed  its  origin  to  the  efforts  of 
members  of  the  New  York  State  Medical  Society, 
and  it  was  the  initiative  and  unflagging  zeal  of 
New  Yorkers  that  had  overcome  the  original 
difficulties  of  bringing  physicians  of  such  varying 
interests  all  over  the  country  together,  and  then 
of  maintaining  and  confirming  the  cordial  rela- 
tions which  gradually  arose.  Unfortunately  this 
ideal  state  of  affairs  was  not  destined  to  endure 
and  the  story  of  long  years  of  estrangement 
between  mother  and  daughter  association  must 
be  told. 

For  several  years  in  the  later  seventies  some 
dissatisfaction  had  been  expressed  at  the  meetings 
of  the  ^ledical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York 
with  the  code  of  ethics  which  was  then  supposed 
to  rule  the  conduct  of  members  of  the  regular 
medical  profession.     The  discussions  culminated 

204 


at  the  annual  meeting  in  1881  in  the  appointment 
of  a  committee  who  drew  up  a  new  code  of  ethics 
to  be  substituted  for  the  one  then  in  force.  Their 
recommendation  was  adopted  by  the  State  Society 
in  February,  1882,  but  met  with  considerable 
opposition  from  many  of  the  County  Societies. 

In  June,  1882,  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion at  its  annual  meeting  held  in  St.  Paul,  re- 
fused to  receive  the  credentials  of  the  delegates 
from  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New 
York  or  to  admit  them  to  its  proceedings  because 
of  the  adoption  of  the  revised  code  of  medical 
ethics  by  the  State  Society.  The  old  code  had 
been  accepted  for  over  thirty  years  and  had  come 
to  be  considered  as  one  of  the  fundamental  laws 
of  the  American  Medical  Association. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  a  rupture  in  the 
formal  relations  between  the  American  Medical 
Association  and  the  New  York  State  Society 
which  was  destined  to  last  for  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  State  Society, 
held  in  February,  1883,  a  resolution  was  offered 
which  was  meant  to  take  the  place  of  the  formal 
code  of  ethics  that  had  been  adopted  in  the  pre- 
vious year.  This  resolution  was  carried.  Em- 
bodied in  it  was  the  statement  "that  the  only 
ethical  offences  for  which  the  profession  of  New 
York  claim  and  promise  to  exercise  the  right  of 
discipline  are  those  comprehended  under  tne 
commission  of  acts  unworthy  a  physician  and  a 
gentleman."  The  circumstances  under  which  the 
resolution  was  offered  and  the  debate  before  its 
adoption  may  be  found  in  the  Transactions  of 
the  State  Society  for  1883,  page  78.  The  Medi- 
cal Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  thus  for- 
mally became  a  "no  code"  organization. 

The  adoption  of  this  "no  code"  resolution  and 
the  failure  of  all  attempts  on  the  part  of  many 
and  influential  members  of  the  society  to  secure 
the  readoption  of  the  old  code,  or  at  least  some 

205 


formal  legislation  that  would  forbid  consultation 
on  the  part  of  members  of  the  society  with 
irregular  medical  practitioners,  or  with  those 
practicing  on  a  sectarian  basis,  finally  led  to  so 
much  dissatisfaction  that  the  formation  of  a  new 
organization  was  suggested  by  those  who  wished 
to  maintain  their  affiliation  with  the  American 
Medical  Association.  It  was  realized,  however, 
that  with  the  constitution  of  the  State  Medical 
Society  as  it  then  was  and  with  the  membership 
as  determined  by  it,  it  would  be  practically 
impossible  to  obtain  any  legislation  of  such  a 
nature  as  would  bring  about  a  reunion  with  the 
national  body. 

A  good  deal  of  care  was  exercised  in  finding 
out  just  what  were  the  sentiments  of  the  members 
of  the  medical  profession  in  New  York  State, 
with  regard  to  the  question  of  the  national  code, 
the  new  code  and  the  abrogation  of  all  codes. 
A  personal  canvas  by  letter  was  made  of  all  the 
members  of  the  profession  in  this  State,  with  a 
result  that  justified  the  idea  that  a  majority  of 
New  York  State  physicians  was  unwilling  to 
be  separated  from  the  National  Association  of 
Physicians  because  of  the  code  question.  The 
determination  of  this  matter  seemed  to  point 
directly  toward  the  advisability  of  the  founda- 
tion of  another  medical  organization  within  the 
State.  In  order  to  show  how  strong  the  opposi- 
tion seemed  to  be,  we  give  the  detailed  result 
of  the  ballot  secured  by  those  who  were  resolved 
to  form  a  new  association  if  they  found  them- 
selves to  be  representative  of  the  State  Medical 
profession  and  if  they  felt  it  were  impossible 
to  look  for  an  amelioration  of  existing  condi- 
tions within  the  State  Society  itself. 

Note. — See  Transactions  of  The  New  York  State 
Medical  Association,  Vol.  I.  In  this  same  number  will 
be  found  a  copy  of  the  old  code.  The  new  code  and 
arguments  for  its  adoption,  too  lengthy  to  print  here, 
can  be  found  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Medical  Soci- 
ety of  the  State  of  New  York 
206 


The  result  of  the  canvass  of  the  opinions  of 
all  the  physicians  of  the  State  was  as  follows : 
For  the  National  Code,  2,547 ;  for  the  New  Code, 
1,040;  for  No  Code,  239;  Unclassified,  34;  total, 
3,860.  It  was  apparent  from  these  figures  that 
there  was  a  majority  of  the  New  York  State 
Profession  for  the  National  Code  over  the  whole 
number  of  committed  and  uncommitted,  more- 
over, there  was  a  majority  of  more  than  two- 
thirds  for  the  National  Code  over  the  New  Code 
and  a  nearly  two-thirds  majority  for  the  National 
Code  over  the  "New  Code,"  "No  Code,"  and 
"Unclassified"  combined.  As  the  result  of  this 
canvass  it  was  resolved  to  form  a  new  organiza- 
tion. The  New  York  State  Medical  Association 
was  accordingly  organized  in  February,  1884, 
and  held  its  first  annual  meeting  in  the  fall  of 
the  same  year. 

REUNION  OF  THE  TWO  STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

The  rival  State  medical  organizations  con- 
tinued to  exist  side  by  side  in  New  York  for 
about  twenty  years.  During  the  last  few  years 
of  the  nineteenth  century  the  sentiment  began 
to  make  itself  felt  very  generally  throughout 
the  medical  profession  of  New  York  State  that 
the  maintenance  of  two  State  medical  organiza- 
tions was  without  any  proper  reason  in  the 
nature  of  things.  A  new  generation  of  physi- 
cians had  come  into  practice  since  the  events 
which  had  brought  about  the  disunion,  and 
among  them  especially  opinions  in  favor  of  the 
reunion  of  the  two  State  organizations  began 
to  be  expressed  freely  and  frequently.  A  rather 
anomalous  condition,  though  interestingly  hope- 
ful for  affairs,  developed  in  New  York  City, 
which  was  a  sign  of  the  feeling  on  the  part  of 
many  members  of  the  profession  that  the 
reasons  for  disunion  were  not  near  so  important 
or  so  profound  as  had  seemed,  or  at  least  that,  in 
the  natural  development  of  things,  many  of  the 

207 


older  reasons  for  separation  from  the  national 
body  had  lost  their  weight.  Many  New  York 
City  physicians  belonged  to  both  their  county 
medical  society  and  their  county  medical  asso- 
ciation. 

This  state  of  affairs  could  scarcely  be  allowed 
to  continue  for  long.  If  the  members  of  the  med- 
ical profession  could  belong  to  both  organiza- 
tions, then  the  differences  between  them  were 
surely  not  essential,  and  the  reasons  for  separa- 
tion had  evidently  lost  their  weight.  It  was  in 
the  New  York  county  organizations,  therefore, 
that  the  movement  for  reunion  took  form  and 
gradually  gained  the  strength  necessary  to  bring 
about  the  fusion  of  the  two  State  organizations. 
Owing  to  legal  difficulties,  mainly  dependent 
upon  the  indefinite  character  of  certain  of  the 
early  by-laws  of  the  medical  organizations,  the 
actual  accomplishment  of  reunion  was  delayed 
longer  than  had  been  expected.  It  was  com- 
pleted, however,  in  time  for  the  celebration  in  a 
compact  body  by  the  medical  profession  of  New 
York  State,  of  the  Centenary  of  the  founda- 
tion of  the  New  York  State  Medical  Society  in 
1906. 

The  story  of  the  movement  that  brought  about 
this  consummation  eminently  to  be  wished  will 
be  told  by  some  future  historian.  The  events 
are  too  near  us  yet  to  have  assumed  the  per- 
spective that  they  will  have  in  history. 


EAGLE   PRESS,   BRCMDKLYN-NEW  YORK 


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